Worldly Prisoners
by NeoRyu777
Summary: Sequel to WS. Sirius escapes, Peter is revealed, and Dumbledore's plotting grows by the day. Things are coming to a head, but Harry must hurry, for Voldemort has discovered an alternate route to regain his body, greater and more terrible than ever before.
1. Escapes

Sorry, I just couldn't wait to post this chapter. So, here we are, Chapter One of Worldly Prisoners.

Disclaimer: If I were JKR or the creator of Final Fantasy, I'd be lazing around the house all day, on my computer playing video games. Since I can't do that without consequences I am evidently not JKR, and thus do not have ownership of Harry Potter or Final Fantasy.

Chapter One: Escapes

Privet Drive. A completely normal place, and like any normal place, it had its entirely _normal _unofficial community competitions. Here, there was a competition among all the housewives of the community: they strived to have the most perfect garden.

Unfortunately, this year threatened even the most dedicated housewife. This summer was much hotter than usual. In fact, the temperatures taken so far were new records for this area of Britain. It was so hot that even in the early morning one could easily see the haze of heat rising from the streets and the sidewalk. Suffice to say, no one was truly willing to go out in that heat and give themselves heat stroke by working on their gardens, and no one was about to hire someone else to tend them.

Petunia Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive, on the other hand, had the perfect solution: send Harry Potter out into the heat to do the work for her. Doing so would ensure that she would win this year's garden competition, and undoubtedly make him miserable as well. Life couldn't be better, in her opinion.

So, looking outside early on one Saturday morning, the twelve-year-old with long raven-colored hair could be seen weeding the garden. Said boy was contemplating his situation and comparing it with one of his past experiences.

_Which place is hotter? Here, or the Desert Prison on Terra? _

Obviously, the boy was insane, if he was thinking of other worlds as if he'd been there. But that was not the case, as Harry James Potter actually had, at the age of five, been magically transported to another dimension. He had spent nine years there, becoming a mercenary of Balamb, known as SeeD. Having traveled the world, he eventually found a way back to his home dimension and found that only six years had passed, making him just in time to attend Hogwarts.

Oh yes, Harry Potter was not only an inter-dimensional traveler and SeeD, he was a wizard as well. Not just any wizard, but the Boy-Who-Lived, the only one known to have ever survived the infamous unstoppable Killing Curse. Not only that, but he had reflected it back upon the caster, the Dark Lord Voldemort, thereby ending his reign of terror.

Harry had gone through two of his seven years of education so far, but they were anything but uneventful. In his first year, he'd saved the Sorcerer's Stone, an immensely magical item that granted immortality and all the riches one could ever want, from the spirit of Voldemort. This was despite being Memory Charmed on his very first day at Hogwarts to forget his entire time on Terra. Thankfully, that was broken on Christmas night.

And the year after, he'd found the legendary Chamber of Secrets, made an ally out of the Basilisk there, and destroyed Voldemort's old diary, which had been possessing Ginny Weasley. On top of that, he'd also gained the Mark of Hydra, which gave him superiority over all Parselmouths. Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, had discovered that Harry was no longer under the influence of the Memory Charm, and tried again, and then sealed away seventy percent of Harry's magic.

Harry, however, was his own man, and with his friends was subtly working against the wily Headmaster while training themselves in the ways of SeeD and in wizardry (or witchcraft for the females of the group). They fully planned to take Dumbledore down, but that was not possible just yet; he was too powerful, politically and magically.

Back at the present, however, Harry's question was about to be answered. _:Difficult to say. Even the weeds are wilting, though, which means that this is definitely desert-level heat,: _Quetzalcoatl, the Guardian Force of Lightning living in Harry's head, answered.

Harry wiped the sweat from his brow. _Damn, it's hot. I really wish junctioning Firaga to my elemental defense would allow me to absorb the heat._

_:It's not magical, so it wouldn't do anything.:_

_I know, I know, but this is just ridiculous! I could cast a Blizzard spell on myself and it'd melt in seconds! _Harry worked in silence for the next several minutes, with the occasional grunt and muttering. _I'm probably going to lose fifteen pounds' worth of water if I keep at this for the summer. How's the magical block coming?_

_:It's deteriorating at an accelerated pace.:_

Harry nodded grimly, pulling out another dead-looking weed. _Fine. _Since he had returned to Privet Drive only a week ago, in late June, that meant Quetz would require three months to finish destroying the magical containment Dumbledore had placed on him.

After another half hour in the scorching sun, Harry was glad to hear Aunt Petunia call him inside. Thankfully, Harry's threat the previous year still held some sway with his relatives; in exchange for no chores – the gardening was the one exception – in exchange for the Dursleys' safety. The only reasons Harry accepted the gardening were because it _was _just one chore, and he wanted his bluff to go uncalled for as long as possible. Besides, Harry wasn't averse to getting a natural tan at the same time. Sure, he could use his Metamorph powers to show a tan, but Harry didn't want to go through the trial of slowly letting his skin fade back to a normal hue at Hogwarts.

Harry had fallen back into his old habit of pre-dawn runs, training at the gym, and reading various books, Muggle or Magical. Muggle-wise, Harry was studying history and science, just to see how Terra and Earth compared. Magic-wise, Harry had his sights on magical languages. Specifically, he wanted to learn Gobbledegook, the goblin language.

Harry didn't like the fact that the majority of goblins hated him for something he had no choice about, but he felt he might make some progress if he showed interest and respect for them by learning their language. He had gone two years without doing anything, but now, he had little else to do. The added side effect was that practicing Gobbledegook in his room when Vernon or Petunia were coming upstairs terrified them to the point to which it was funny; he was just speaking another language, not actively casting magic.

Unfortunately, the goblin language was very difficult to learn, but Harry was nothing if not dedicated and stubborn. He was determined to learn Gobbledegook.

However, to make sure that he wouldn't be gravely insulting the goblin race by learning their language, Harry sent a letter to Griphook. Griphook had replied that learning the language may very well help the rest of the goblins to get over his Terran upbringing, and sent along a few books on the subject.

In mid-July, Harry received a letter from Hogwarts, containing a permission form that would allow him to go to Hogsmeade on certain weekends out of the year. The only problem was, Harry needed one of his guardians to sign. "Potter! Get down here!" Vernon's voice rumbled.

"Coming!" Harry yelled back, carrying the paper with him as he went downstairs. "Yes, Uncle?"

"Marge is coming over for the next couple of weeks," Vernon said shortly. "She doesn't know anything about your freakishness, and if you know what's good for you, you'll keep it that way."

_That was the plan, anyway, since I don't want to be expelled for doing magic. _Harry nodded. "Anything else, sir?" Harry hated calling his hated uncle "sir" but it was necessary.

"She believes you're going to St. Brutus's Center for Incurably Criminal Boys."

Harry blinked. Twice. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard. Did I just hear you say that she believes I'm going to a school for delinquents?"

Vernon's eyes glittered maliciously. "No, Potter, you heard correctly."

Harry's eyebrow twitched. "What gave her that idea?"

"I did," Vernon growled.

Harry sighed. "Fine. She wouldn't believe the truth even if I told her. Anyway, I have something from school you need to sign." He held up the paper.

"What is it?" Vernon asked suspiciously.

"Just a permission form to go to Hogsmeade, the town by my school." Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Trust me, you'll want to sign," he added in a cold voice.

"Or what?" Vernon sneered.

_"Seth, kindly scare the fat oaf for me, would you?" _

_"Gladly."_ The snake that was magically transformed into a tattoo at the moment moved and erupted into 3D, poking its head out of Harry's shirt and hissing incessantly at a now-pale Vernon Dursley.

"Or I'll sick Seth on you," Harry answered Vernon. "He's very hungry, you know. Haven't had the chance to feed him today."

"I'll sign, I'll sign!" Vernon said, his tone frightened as he grabbed a pen and quickly signed the form.

"Thank you. If there is nothing further, I shall return to my room," Harry said in that same, cold voice before turning to go back upstairs. A sound in the living room, however, stopped him.

"… Sirius Black is armed and very dangerous," some guy was saying on the TV. "If you see him, please call the number on the screen immediately."

"What? Sirius Black?" Harry gasped.

Petunia, who had been watching, whirled on Harry. "That's what the Prime Minister said. Didn't even say what he was in prison for!"

"That's cuz he's a wizard," Harry said grimly. "A dangerous one. He killed thirteen people with a single curse the day after my parents died. From what I hear, they covered it up, called it a freak gas explosion." Harry clenched his fists. "He's also the one who sold out my parents to Voldemort. Hmph, so he's escaped from Azkaban, eh? Just gives me a chance to kill him."

_:Harry, your peers and even the adults have said that no one has ever broken out of Azkaban before. If Sirius Black has, he is quite likely a very dangerous wizard that we should be wary of meeting. On top of that, it's best not to take any chances when you're handicapped.:_

_Right. But if I do see him, I won't run away unless I don't have a choice. A gunblade to the head will kill just as fast as a spell if not faster. _

_:True.: _

"A-A-Azkaban?" Petunia stuttered.

Harry looked at her sharply. Did she know something? "What do you know about Azkaban?" Harry used Legilimency to look into her mind. After the initial haziness, he saw a memory.

Flashback

_Petunia peeked through a doorway, spying on her sister. Lily was talking with a tall boy with black, unruly hair. "But what about Azkaban, the wizard prison?"_

"_I don't know, Lily," the boy answered. "Since the dementors have left and joined Voldemort, Azkaban is no longer the safest place to keep the Death Eaters. I hate dementors…"_

_Lily shivered. "I don't blame you, James. Those things are the worst, feasting on your happiness, making you feel like you'll never be happy again…"_

_Petunia shivered as well. _What a horrible prospect, _she thought to herself. _Never be happy again? Those things are dangerous!

"_Don't forget that since they've joined Voldemort now, they won't hesitate to suck out your soul," James warned. "That's why we've got to learn the spell to ward them off, the Patronus Charm. The incantation is _Expecto Patronum._ Ready? Let's do it!"_

End Flashback

Harry blinked; watching that memory had taken but a second; Petunia was still opening her mouth to answer. "Filthy prison for _your kind_," Petunia spat. "I hope the guards catch that Black character."

"You would really wish for someone's soul to be sucked away by a dementor?" Harry asked incredulously.

"He's one of your kind, and he was part of a group that killed my parents!" Petunia said angrily, storming off.

She had, unwittingly, also answered one of Harry's questions. _OK, so the dementors have returned to guarding Azkaban. But they'll probably be sent off to find Black. _Harry clenched his fists. _But not before I get him. I want to know why he betrayed them. Then, and only then, will I feed him to the dementors. _

_:You have also need to practice a new spell, the one you just observed in her memory. The Patronus Charm.:_

Expecto Patronum, Harry recalled. _I shall remember._

The next day, Harry was in the living room while his uncle went to pick up Marge. He took the opportunity to review the few memories he had of Marge, and frowned. If she was anything like how he remembered her, he'd have quite a test of endurance and self-restraint coming up soon. To delay the meeting with her for as long as possible, he went to the gym late and stayed longer than normal.

Finally, though, he had to go back to Privet Drive. Steeling himself, he re-entered his uncle's home. It was three o'clock in the afternoon by now, and the first thing Harry noticed was that Marge had brought her dog, Ripper, who was sleeping by her feet right now.

"So, boy, you finally come back?" Marge asked disdainfully. "I was half-expecting you to have run away again. And, eurgh! What is that stench? Go take a shower, boy, you _stink!_"

Harry suppressed a grin. _Working out does that to you, Marge. But you wouldn't know, you fat tub of lard. _His good feelings melted when Marge continued. "Why do you let him do that? He looks and smells like a hobo, that long-haired pillock! I thought St. Brutus's gave haircuts!"

Harry considered shortening his hair in the shower, just to give her a scare, but decided against it. He didn't want to aggravate his relatives. _It's going to be a long two weeks. _

_I hate it when I'm right, _Harry thought after the second night of dinner. Marge had, once again, begun pointing out everything she felt was wrong about him, but this time, she had started to hit on his parents. Harry's tightly-clenched fists were trembling, and tattoo-Seth was wriggling, just dying to bite her. Harry wasn't sure he would be able to keep from killing her the next night if she kept it up.

The only thing that made Harry feel any better was the way that Ripper looked at him in fear before backing away, whimpering. Harry felt smug that even Ripper could tell when a more dangerous foe was near.

Harry made sure to spend as much time away from Marge as he could, for the simple reason that killing someone, even someone as detestable as Marge, was considered a crime. But unfortunately, dinner had to be spent together.

As they sat down to dinner, Harry made sure to have perfect manners, so as not to give Marge any more ammunition. He pulled out the chair for Aunt Marge, waited until Aunt Petunia was seated before he sat down, made sure he kept his elbows off the table, provided iced drinks, ate at a moderate pace…

Unfortunately, that only gave Aunt Marge another way to verbally abuse Harry. "I see the pillock has learned some manners," she sneered. "As opposed to his parents, idiots and slobs they were."

_Stay calm, _Harry thought to himself, using Occlumency techniques.

"Wine, Marge?" Vernon asked.

"Please, thank you." Marge gave Vernon her glass and he poured some wine for the three adults. Marge drank hers greedily. "Ah, thank you, Vernon. Now where was I? Oh, yes, dog breeding. There're a few rules about it, but the most important one is that if there's something wrong with the bitch, there's always going to be something wrong with the pup. Take the Potter boy for example. What self-respecting boy would wear long hair? What's next, wearing dresses, the filthy transvestite!"

_I can take this… right now she's just insulting me… _Harry thought desperately. "I'm no transvestite, ma'am."

"Yeah, right." Marge took another drink. "Perhaps another glass, Vernon? Ah, thank you. Now, as I was saying, look at the boy's arm, he's got a snake tattoo. A tattoo, for crying out loud! He's probably joined some street gang, selling drugs and taking it up the…"

"Marge!" Petunia protested, covering Dudley's ears.

Harry noticed something odd. His hand and one of his eyebrows were twitching, despite the fact that he was using Occlumency techniques to keep his perception of anger low. _That's not good news. For me to be physically reacting to anger when I'm focusing as hard as I can on ignoring it… it's a good thing I'm using Occlumency right now, otherwise she'd probably just be a smear on the wall._

Vernon saw Harry's twitching eyebrow on his otherwise-calm face. "Marge…"

"You never told me what kind of work the brat's parents did," Marge said suddenly, interrupting her brother.

"They were… unemployed," Vernon said after a moment. He saw the twitching of Harry's eyebrow grow in intensity, and one of the veins was starting to throb. _I have a feeling this won't turn out well…_

"Figures. They must've been slobs, living on the streets, begging for money for booze." Marge turned to Harry, who was mentally reciting his numbers in Gobbledegook to calm down. It wasn't working. "I bet they weren't even actually married, and had this brat out of wedlock, that whore of a mother!"

Harry's control snapped. He slowly stood up, his face contorted into a look of rage as his emerald eyes burned with an inner blaze. "SHUT UP!" Harry screamed, and his magic flared. Suddenly, Marge no longer had a mouth. She looked absolutely horrified. Harry's magic flared again, and now he seemed to have an unearthly aura of power. "You wretched, evil _bitch!_" Harry hissed. "I am far more powerful than you can even imagine. You can insult me, but when you brought my parents into this, you crossed the line." Marge began floating off her chair, being held in midair by the sheer force of Harry's will. "You get your kicks out of pointing out what you see as deficiencies. Well guess what? You're about to start your life as a mute."

"Now see here!" Vernon roared, getting to his feet. "Set her right!"

"Vernon, do you remember our deal?" Harry asked in tones as cold as a winter night in Antarctica. "You and your family leave me alone, and I don't use magic on your family? You've failed your end of the bargain. _Seth, Slow them down. Don't Petrify."_

_"Understood." _Seth emerged from his slumber in Harry's skin and poked his head out from underneath his shirt. His relatives looked absolutely terrified.

"Don't sick him on us, freak!" Petunia shrieked.

Seth opened wide and lunged. First, he bit Vernon, then Petunia and finally Dudley. Harry wrapped Seth loosely around his neck. "I'm leaving," Harry said matter-of-factly. He went upstairs, packed the few things he had taken out of his trunk, and carried it downstairs. Hedwig was out at the moment, but Harry had full confidence that she'd find him sooner or later. His relatives were almost exactly where he had left them; Seth had injected so much venom that they essentially couldn't move. Marge was still floating uselessly.

Harry smirked at them; he had finally punished them all. "Buh-bye!" he said cheerfully, closing the door and carrying his trunk outside. _Now where? Dumbledore won't dare try to expel me from Hogwarts. So, if I were the innocent puppet of Dumbledore, what would I do next? _

_:Had he succeeded in Memory Charming you, you likely would have assumed you'd just been expelled for doing magic outside of Hogwarts.:_

_True… which would mean that doing a little more magic couldn't hurt. _Harry dug out his Nimbus 2000 from his Item Bag. Suddenly, though, he had the eerie feeling of being watched. He let his eyes follow the sense to a small alleyway nearby. Pointing his wand, Harry muttered, "_Lumos._" The light on his wand almost blinded him after having gotten used to the dark, but it did the job; Harry could now see his watcher: a very, _very_ large shaggy dog with wide, gleaming eyes. Harry began to approach, and his magical sense suddenly told him that all was not as it seemed. _Animagus, _Harry realized. _Let's find out who it is. _"_Stupefy!_"

The dog's eyes widened almost comically, thereby confirming Harry's suspicions. It dodged out of the way and began running down the street. _Uh-uh, I don't think so. _"_Accio!_"

The dog suddenly found itself being dragged back, despite running as fast as it could. Mentally keeping the focus strong, Harry decided to reveal this animal for what it really was. "_Animagus Reverto!_" The dog grunted and leapt to one side, finally shrugging off the Summoning Charm as well. With a frown of concentration that seemed very out of place on a dog, it disappeared with a loud CRACK.

Harry sighed, lowering his wand. "Damn it. Wonder who it was?" _One of Voldemort's old followers? Some reporter? _Harry had no idea. _Definitely unregistered, though. _

Harry returned to his trunk and broomstick, and raised his wand to perform a featherweight charm on his trunk to tie it onto his Nimbus 2000…

BAM! A gigantic, purple double-decker bus labeled _The Knight Bus_ just exploded into existence out of nowhere. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening," Stan said loudly into the night.

_Can't go as Harry Potter… _Harry quickly changed his image to Neville Longbottom, the first person he could think of. "Hello, I'm Neville. How much for a ride to the Leaky Cauldron?"

A few minutes later, Harry was sipping his hot cocoa, trying to get used to the insane driving and the incessant "BANG" noises of the Knight Bus. His stomach lurched uncomfortably as Harry tried to figure out what to do next. _Dumbledore'll find me eventually. The question is, how soon will that be? _Harry smirked. _Well, I can take advantage of this opportunity to practice my magic. _

"Leaky Cauldron!" Stan announced. "Neville, yer stop!"

"Thanks, Stan." Harry smiled at him, getting off and helping Stan lower his trunk and owl cage. Then, the Bus took off. Harry looked around and was slightly surprised to see Cornelius Fudge nearby. _Well, I suppose this is as good an opportunity as any to make allies. _Harry changed back into normal self and walked over.

"Harry, there you are!" Fudge said in surprise. "Come on, then, we need to have a bit of a chat." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder and quickly steered him inside the pub. Of course, had Harry chosen, he could have flipped him just as he did Lockhart, but Fudge had good reason.

Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord, appeared in the door from behind the bar. "You've got him, Minister! Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"

"Some tea wouldn't go unappreciated," Fudge replied. "But perhaps you can lead us to a _private _parlor?"

Tom merely nodded and beckoned towards the passage that led from the bar. Fudge marched Harry into a small parlor, and Tom snapped his fingers. A fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room, presumably to make some tea.

Fudge finally let go of Harry's shoulder. "Why don't you sit down, Harry?" Fudge invited, indicating a chair by the fire. Harry did so, and Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak, tossing it aside. He then sat down opposite Harry.

"Hello, Minister," Harry said politely. "How can I help you? I'm sure that a simple case of underage magic doesn't bring the Minister himself from his important duties."

Fudge smiled. Just then, Tom returned with a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed it on the table between Fudge and Harry and left the parlor, closing the door behind him.

"Very astute, Harry. I don't mind telling you that you've had the entire Ministry in a flap, running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that," Fudge said, pouring out some tea for the two of them. He handed Harry a cup.

Harry took it graciously. "Thank you. I assure you I had no intention of throwing the Ministry out of order. I simply… lost my temper with my Muggle relatives and lost control of my magic."

Fudge raised an eyebrow. "The latest reports say that you cast several spells after the Vanishing Charm. By the way, I was under the impression that the Vanishing Charm was fifth year magic, how did you know it?"

"Purely accidental," Harry replied after a sip of tea. "My uncle's sister was insulting my parents, and I just yelled at her to shut up… my magic did the rest. If you don't mind me asking, what spells were recorded?"

"_Lumos,_ which I can understand; it was quite dark outside, and you can never be too careful nowadays," Fudge said genially. "Then a Stunner and a Summoning Charm. The last one, though, boggled me. How did you know _Animagus Reverto_? That's a spell commonly taught to Aurors!"

Harry smiled grimly. "With my status as the Boy-Who-Lived, I quickly developed a kind of paranoia. I wasn't sure if there were any unregistered Animagi out there, so I took it upon myself to learn the charm. Good thing, too, because before I got on the Knight Bus on the way here, there was a very large black dog Animagus watching me. It seemed too watchful and not very dog-like, so I tried to Stun it to see if it was truly a dog, but it dodged and tried to run. It Apparated away when I almost hit it with _Animagus Reverto._"

"Indeed?" Fudge asked rhetorically as he poured himself another cup of tea. "I'll have my Aurors keep an eye out for it, then. It must be a fairly recently developed Animagus; the Ministry is usually pretty good about finding unregistered ones."

_No, you really aren't, _Harry thought amusedly, taking a crumpet. _You're talking to one right now. _"Thank you, Minister. Is it safe to assume you've already sent the Obliviators to my relatives and sorted things out?"

"Yes," Fudge agreed, pleased. "It was a bit tricky to bring back Miss Marjorie Dursley's mouth, but the Accidental Magic Reversal Department managed in the end. She has already been Obliviated and has no recollection of the incident whatsoever. No harm done."

Harry nodded. "Again, thank you. I was really not looking forward to that conversation."

"No problem, no problem at all," Fudge said, waving off Harry's thanks. "Now, I won't deny that your relatives are extremely angry with you, but they're prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."

Harry once again nodded. "That's what I thought they'd say. The Dursleys and I… well, we don't exactly get along. It's more of a forced coexistence. So I always stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter. To be honest, I'd much prefer not to return to Privet Drive ever, but since I am still a child in the eyes of the law, my hands are tied, especially since I know the Ministry and Dumbledore have tracking charms on my wand to make sure I don't run away again."

Fudge looked a bit sheepish, and Harry felt his respect for the man rise a couple of notches. _At least he's honest about it. _"Yes, well… I'm glad to see you understand. In any case, all that's left to decide is where you're going to spend the rest of your vacation. You still have a month and a few days until September first. I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron. There are plenty of places in Diagon Alley to explore, though I'll have to ask you not to stray into Muggle London."

"Understandable, considering that you'll probably have a few people watching me. You don't want me to run away, nor do you want me to be found by Sirius Black," Harry analyzed.

Fudge chuckled. "Smart, aren't you? Well, I'll go see if Tom's got a room for you." About a minute later, he returned. "Perfect, room eleven's open. Please return by dark every night."

"Sure thing, Minister." Harry was suddenly struck by a thought. "Um, Minister?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I know Black's escaped and all, but are you sending out the dementors to find him?" Harry asked.

Fudge nodded grimly. "I dislike the dementors personally, but even I must admit, they have never yet failed, and they are angrier than I have ever seen them before."

"Then perhaps it would be wise to teach the populace how to repel the effects of dementors as they search?" Harry questioned, a little worried. "I mean, loads of people are going to suffer the effects of, as you called them, angrier-than-ever dementors, while they search for Black. That's going to lower morale."

Fudge looked thoughtful. "That _is _an idea… that might be wise indeed. Thank you, Harry, for bringing it to my attention. I'll consult my advisors and see if something can be done to that effect."

"If you do, please keep in mind that several Muggleborns – and I include myself, since I'm Muggle-raised – don't really have any parents to protect us from them," Harry said slowly. "I was wondering if we could have a temporary break in the Underage Magic restriction, for just as long as Black is on the run. I mean, I know we won't be much of a fight against them" – _except for me, _Harry thought – "but every advantage helps, and we'll need to keep ready magically, especially if Black goes and somehow frees more prisoners from Azkaban. I mean no offense to your Aurors, but even they need a couple of minutes to get somewhere, right? And it only takes two words and few seconds to kill someone."

Now, Fudge looked rather taken aback at the comparison. "Well, Harry, you see, I visited Azkaban about a week before Black escaped. Now, you must understand, it doesn't take very long for prisoners to go insane in there, and Black was mad when we took him in. He asked, polite as can be, if he could take my copy of the day's Daily Prophet, and that he missed doing the crossword. Over the next couple of days, as he slept, the guards reported that he was saying something: 'He's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts.'" Fudge looked piercingly at Harry. "Considering that you were the one who defeated his master all those years ago, the Ministry believes that he's after you. Black wouldn't dare return to Azkaban to break others out just yet; he's not fit enough to return, and I highly doubt he'd want to risk the dementors on their home turf."

Harry nodded. That made sense, and Harry wasn't about to argue. "I see. So, basically, you're going to send the dementors to Hogwarts while I'm there to guard against Black entering." Harry took another crumpet. "Have you discovered how he escaped yet?"

Fudge shook his head. "Not yet, but I have full confidence in my Aurors. They'll find out soon enough, and then we'll eliminate that problem. But it had to have been a powerful Dark Magic, and the wards at Hogwarts are very powerful and designed to prevent that, so you'll be safe there."

"Ah." Harry sipped his tea for a moment. Since he did not want to seem very pushy about the Underage Magic – especially since Fudge had kept him from punishment about it – Harry dropped the idea of temporarily canceling it. "This has been a truly enlightening conversation, Minister. Thank you for telling me everything, and for waiting to hear my side of the story before punishing me for my underage magic."

Fudge smiled. "It was no problem, Harry. Now, I'm afraid I have Ministry business to attend to, and I must discuss your ideas with the Wizengamot. You made some good points, and perhaps there will be a few changes soon."

Harry used a brief Legilimency scan and was happily surprised to see that Fudge was being sincere. _Perhaps there's a reason he's Minister after all. _Harry was willing to give Fudge a second chance, but he wouldn't forget Fudge's attempt to arrest Hagrid without evidence the previous year. "Until next time, Minister."

"Until then, Harry." Fudge shook Harry's hand and left the Leaky Cauldron.

Meanwhile, in an alley not far away from the Leaky Cauldron, a certain dog Animagus was trying to decipher just what had happened. _I was watching Harry and he somehow sensed me. Then he cast _Lumos_ and came closer… he smelled curious as he came closer, but when he came within ten meters, he stiffened, and his scent changed to apprehensive and aggressive. He somehow _knew _I was an Animagus. How? _

The dog lay down with a whine, putting its paws over its head. _Besides that, there was something about his smell when he got close… something that made the dog side of me shiver and want to run away. And that's never a good thing. _Trying to analyze it further, the Animagus decided, _the quality was a little similar to Mad-Eye Moody's scent. Paranoia? Experience? But that wouldn't scare a fully grown dog that badly, no it'd be more of a challenge. But what could that scent have meant? _The Animagus did something then that he hadn't done in many years; he let his dog instincts do the interpreting.

_Danger! Extreme danger! Run away! Very deadly enemy! Strength of others! _

The Animagus retook control, not wanting to follow that line of thought. _What the hell? What's going on? Harry's only twelve, almost thirteen! How could he be very deadly, extremely dangerous? And what does 'strength of others' mean? _The dog's body froze in place, eyes widening. _Could it be he's being possessed? Or under the Imperius curse? Don't worry, Harry, I'm out of Azkaban at last, and soon we'll be together, as soon as I can get that rat of a traitor._

With that, Sirius Black got up in his dog form and started trotting down the streets, looking for food.

Harry quickly discovered the truth behind Fudge's words; there was _a lot _to explore in Diagon Alley. Harry, on his first day, explored almost the entire day, but not simply for the sake of exploring like others boys his age. No, he was making a mental map of the area, just in case of an attack.

Knockturn Alley, however, was off limits. Harry refused to believe that Knockturn Alley was inherently evil, or even completely Dark. Sure, some of the shadier elements of society existed there, but that didn't make it bad. If there was an equivalent on Terra, Harry probably would have made his living there; he was a mercenary after all. Harry didn't venture into Knockturn Alley for two good reasons: if he was seen there, his reputation would – once again – be sundered by some aspiring reporter, and Tom the barkeep somehow knew everything that happened in Diagon Alley in a matter of minutes. Harry suspected Legilimency.

On that first day, Harry decided to visit Gringotts. He walked up the steps easily and saw how the goblin guard grew more and more uncomfortable, as usual. **"Peace, friend, I am not here to practice the arts of war,"** Harry whispered in Gobbledegook to him – it was one of the first phrases he'd dedicated himself to memorizing. He didn't see the goblin's shocked face as Harry continued on.

Harry walked up to the goblin in charge of delegating the cart-drivers to take wizards to their vaults. The goblin looked up. "Name and key?"

"Harry Potter." He passed up the key.

The goblin inspected it. "Everything seems to be in order. Griphook! Take Mr. Potter to his vault!"

Harry clapped his fists together at the goblin. **"Thank you, and may your ventures be profitable." **The saying was originally part of the ritual for finalizing a business venture, but it had grown to become the standard formal farewell.

The goblin's eyes widened. After a couple of seconds, it returned the gesture and said the accompanying statement: **"And may your gold continue to flow." **

Harry smiled and left with Griphook to his vault. The goblin Harry had greeted looked around at the other nearby goblins, each of whom had identical expressions of shock. Harry Potter, the one who all goblins could sense held the strength of hundreds, thousands of monsters – including goblins – had greeted them in their own language and as an equal. There was something going on, and the goblin to whom Harry had bade farewell planned to discuss this with Ragnok, the Head Goblin of Gringotts.

"**You have learned much, Harry Potter,"** Griphook commented.

"**But there is still so much more," **Harry responded.

Griphook gave him a goblin grin. **"Your accent needs work, but your grammar is excellent. How long have you been teaching yourself the goblin tongue?"**

Harry blinked. Thinking hard, he said slowly, **"I have not learned all of Gobbledegook, but I have studied for almost a month." **He shook his head, returning to English. "I'm learning much faster than I expected, but even so, this takes time."

Griphook nodded. "It is only to be expected. Magical folk learn languages much faster than Muggles, but everything takes time. You are doing well."

"Thank you."

After refilling his Item Bag with one hundred of each coin, Harry went to Flourish and Blott's and bought a couple of new books to study. He decided to wait until near the end of summer to buy some new robes and potion ingredients, for the simple reason that he didn't want to outgrow his new robes immediately, and he wasn't sure how fast he was going to grow. Harry spent a lot of his time after that first day either studying his Gobbledegook, or reading one of his new books. In each of these cases, he was usually in Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. There, he and the owner, Florean Fortescue himself, would strike up a conversation about a variety of topics, ranging from history to the ethicality of certain laws, such as the anti-werewolf legislation.

Two weeks after first arriving, Harry stopped by the Quidditch shop and noticed a crowd. Curious, Harry managed to get midway through the crowd and saw what they were ogling at – a broomstick. But not just any broomstick, it was the brand new, fresh on the market, Firebolt.

Oh, it was a thing of beauty. Each birch twig was perfectly straightened and kept at exactly the right length, the shaft's wood (ash) was polished to shine, and Harry could sense the highly refined magic in it interacting without interfering with each other. Harry read the sign next to the broom. _It can accelerate to 150 miles an hour in ten seconds? Damn, that's much faster than my Nimbus 2000 at 90 miles an hour in fifteen! _

Harry wouldn't have been surprised if a spotlight shone from the heavens on that broomstick at that point, and wasn't at all surprised when he heard that the Irish International Quidditch team was ordering them.

_Price on request? _Harry decided that it wasn't worth it; he still had to pay for the remainder of his education at Hogwarts, and his current Nimbus 2000 was perfectly fine. There was no point in buying a better broom when the one he had did the job quite nicely.

Not long afterwards was Harry's birthday, and he was quite pleased to receive several presents. Hermione sent him some sugarless sweets – her parents were dentists – and Theo sent some of Honeyduke's finest chocolate – always a good buy, and tasted absolutely glorious when Harry allowed himself to eat some. Daphne got him a broomstick servicing kit, and Blaise's present was a Foe Glass. "The shadows there will become clear when you're in danger, and then you'll see who's after you," the note had said.

To Harry's surprise, he had also received two other presents. Ron Weasley had sent him a Sneakoscope. "I figure you need it more than I do. Besides, it always lights up and spins whenever the twins are up to a prank, and I _still _can't avoid them. You could probably use it better." Harry thought that this was an incredibly thoughtful gift for the insensitive boy, but perhaps he'd changed a bit. The other gift was from Ginny Weasley, a green home-made bracelet. Her note called it a "thank you" for helping her to adapt to Slytherin house and for saving her from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry idly wondered if she still harbored a crush for him.

Hagrid had also sent a gift, though if Harry didn't know any better, he'd say that the box it was in was growling. Deciding caution was best, Harry opened the note first.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday! This may come in handy for yeh at Hogwarts this year. Ain't sayin' no more just yet. I'll see yeh at Hogwarts._

_Hagrid_

Harry bit his lip. _Something that may come in handy at Hogwarts? That could be anything! _

_:Only one way to find out what it is.:_

_Yeah. _Harry reached for the box and slowly undid the wrapping paper. He froze when he heard the item within snap loudly, as if it had jaws. Harry's eyes narrowed; he knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid's definition of dangerous was a little different from his own.

Harry inspected the box. There were no air holes, and it was locked tight. Harry cocked his head in puzzlement. _Anything living should have already suffocated by the time this reached me, but whatever is in here is definitely not dead. _He took a deep breath and ripped open the box, tipping it onto its side.

Harry was a little surprised to see a book fall out. He took in the appearance of the book at a glance. It had a handsome green cover with the golden title _The Monster Book of Monsters_, and the binding looked well-made. Just then, the book flipped onto its edge and began moving like a crab along the floor.

Harry reached down to pick it up, but the book whirled and snapped shut on his hand. Harry smirked. _That stung, but it'll take a lot more than that to hurt me. _Harry took his other hand and grabbed the book by its spine, holding it still, though it was struggling in his hands. _Like a monster, eh? Well, let's see if I can calm it down. _Harry began whistling a tune, but the book kept trying to escape. _OK, not music. How about stroking it? _Harry ran a few of his fingers down the spine of the book, and the monstrous book shuddered before falling limp. Harry grinned. _Ha-ha! Gotcha! _Harry set it aside for the time being; he had other things to do.

The notes from the Weasleys had also told Harry that they were in Egypt to visit their brother Bill, having won the Ministry's lottery. They were saving some of the money, though, for emergency purposes. Harry smiled at that; it was about time that the Weasleys had some luck. Although, the trip to Egypt seemed a bit foolish; wouldn't it have been wiser to invest the money? Bill, as a curse-breaker, made a little more than a decent amount of money; he also received a portion of whatever treasure he found. Surely he would be able to visit occasionally?

To tell the truth, Harry was very interested in the curse-breaking profession. The idea of traveling and seeing new lands while living the exciting life of breaking curses and powerful wards where one false step could get you killed… Harry liked the prospect, especially since he wouldn't always be flying solo.

His other profession as SeeD on Terra was nice, but it got a bit lonely traveling the plains alone. To be honest, he had first decided to become SeeD only because he wanted to be strong enough to protect his friends, and he was doing that quite well, despite the fact that he had to hide his true power at present.

Speaking of SeeD, Harry hadn't had the opportunity to see Squall, Quistis and Zell in their graduation test. Had they passed? Harry didn't know, but he also didn't know when he'd next be able to check.

In mid-August, Hogwarts students started pouring in to by their supplies, so Harry decided the time was right to buy his own, especially since he'd gotten his booklist only a few days prior. He stopped by the Apothecary and replenished his store of potions ingredients, and it appeared he was quite right to wait to buy new robes – he had grown quite a bit over the summer, now reaching five feet. He made sure that he had a little room to grow into his new robes, as he didn't want to repeat the process next year.

Finally, Harry went to buy his schoolbooks, including those for his two new subjects: Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He took a look at his booklist for the first time since he'd gotten it. _Odd. I don't remember signing up for Care of Magical Creatures… and I know I didn't sign up for Divination. There's Arithmancy, but where's Ancient Runes? What the hell? _He was very surprised at the sight of a cage full of books he recognized as copies of _The Monster Book of Monsters. _As he entered, the manager came hurrying towards him.

"Hogwarts?" he asked abruptly. "Come to get your new books?"

Harry nodded. "But I – "

"Get out of the way," the manager interrupted impatiently, pulling on a pair of very thick gloves and picking up a large, knobbly walking stick.

"I already have one of those," Harry said in an irritated tone, not liking how the manager had interrupted him.

The manager's look changed to one of enormous relief. "Have you? Thank heavens for that! I've been bitten five times already this morning…" A loud ripping noise was heard then as two of the _Monster Books_ had seized a third and were pulling it apart. "Stop it, stop it!" cried the manager, poking the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart. "I'm never stocking them again, never! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the _Invisible Book of Invisibility_ – cost a fortune, and we never found them…"

"You know, there's a way to calm them down, easy," Harry said casually.

The manager looked at Harry as if he were a godsend. "How? How?"

Harry decided to take pity on the poor manager. He looked frazzled enough, and Harry felt like doing him a favor. He walked over to the cage, and his arm lashed out like a snake, grabbing one of the copies and pulling it through the cage. He ran one finger down its spine and the book shuddered, falling limp like his own copy. "Stroke their spines. They're basically bloodthirsty animals, right? Well, petting is one of the universal signs of affection, and it usually calms down an animal. I did it on my copy and it has behaved very well."

The manager looked awestruck. "Tell you what, I'll give you the rest of your booklist for free if you help me with the rest of these."

Harry grinned. "Deal."

About an hour later, Harry was a very happy customer. The _Monster Books _were behaving quietly now and the manager had even thrown in the books for Ancient Runes in addition to Harry's booklist. "Do you know why I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination?" Harry asked. "I know I didn't sign up for them."

"Well, Care of Magical Creatures is required now for third years," the manager explained. "I'm not sure about Divination, though. Did your letter say anything about it?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't thought it necessary to read through the letter, as all he needed was his booklist. "Um, let me find out. I forgot about that while I was on my way here." He dug the letter from Hogwarts from his pocket, unfolded it and began to read.

_Harry Potter,_

_Welcome back for your third year of Hogwarts. Attached is your booklist. Please note that Care of Magical Creatures is now a required course for all new third years. Remember that term begins on September 1. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

"Nope, nothing," Harry said confusedly. "I'll just have to send Headmaster Dumbledore a letter." So, that night, Harry drafted a letter and sent it to the Headmaster with Hedwig.

Three days later, Harry received a letter back.

_Dear Harry_

_I know you expressed a wish to attend Ancient Runes, but it is necessary for you to attend Divination. Divination has special regard to your life, and it is related to that scar of yours and why you keep on meeting with incarnations of Voldemort. Attending Divination will help you, while Ancient Runes will not. I am only looking out for your own good, Harry._

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

"Why that conniving old coot!" Harry growled angrily. _He's talking about that bloody prophecy… if only I knew what the actual words were, but Dumbledore did tell me part of it. 'One must die by the other's hand, for neither can live while the other survives.' That means that I'm destined to either kill Voldemort or die trying. _Harry snorted. _Just how is Divination going to help me with that? I don't _want _to guess at the future. _

_:If I recall correctly, Hermione is taking all of the possible electives,: _Quetz pointed out. _:Is it not possible for you to do the same?:_

Harry's anger immediately dissipated into a thoughtful look. _You've got a point. Alright, let's try it. But first, I'm going to send letters to my friends, see what they think. _An hour later, he sent Hedwig out.

Two days later, he received four letters. He opened the one from Hermione first.

_Dear Harry,_

_DUMBLEDORE DID WHAT? I can't believe he would go so far! For a Headmaster to purposely disregard the student's expressed wishes for their OWL electives without the parent's explicit consent is illegal, especially since doing so almost ruins their chances of getting into the job of their choice! _

_But Harry, keep in mind that even if we don't take the classes, we can still elect to take the OWL exams for those classes. It will simply require independent study. As I'm taking Ancient Runes myself, and so is Blaise if I recall correctly, the two of us can help you learn if you need us to. _

_About my taking all the classes, I'm afraid I've been bound to secrecy by McGonagall, and she, at least, is trustworthy. Sorry I can't help that way, but you might be able to convince her to do what I'm doing. Good luck._

_Love from,_

_Hermione_

Harry nodded absently as he read the letter. He had been considering doing independent study for Ancient Runes, but he knew that a class would be better. He honestly hadn't expected Hermione to tell him how she was taking all of her classes, but it was worth a shot. He moved on to Daphne's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I double-checked with my Uncle – the Obliviator I told you about – and he says that you have the grounds to sue Dumbledore, but Dumbledore has too many connections right now, and is too popular at the moment for it to do anything but let Dumbledore know that you aren't going to take his orders lying down. _

_This puts you in a bad situation, as being unable to take Ancient Runes could mean that you won't be able to go into the job of your choice. I think you should just remember this information and bring it up when we finally do bring him to court, so we can put the bastard down once and for all, destroy him in one fell swoop._

_Oh, and since I had chosen Care of Magical Creatures as one of my two electives, I had to pick out another one. I chose Divination. Until the Hogwarts Express, _

_Daphne_

Harry once again nodded, this time in consideration of the new information. Daphne was right; he couldn't do anything just yet. He pulled out Theo's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_You can't take Ancient Runes? That sucks! At least you'll share Divination with me, though. Since Care of Magical Creatures became a required class, I had to pick out Arithmancy, Ancient Runes or Muggle Studies. I chose Arithmancy, so we'll get to share that one too. _

_I'm pretty sure Daphne's already told you all the legal mumbo-jumbo, so no point in repeating her! Hope to see you in Diagon Alley, but if not, see ya on the Hogwarts Express!_

_Theo_

Harry smiled at that, glad to see that Theo was his usual self. Finally, he pulled out Blaise's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am saddened to hear that you cannot take Ancient Runes due to the Headmaster's interference, but have you thought that perhaps there is something we have overlooked? The secret to Voldemort's immortality is still unknown to us, but perhaps Divination will help to determine it. Despite the fact that most Seers are frauds, there is the occasional wizard (usually a witch) with a powerful talent for it. _

_I do suggest you try, however, to take Ancient Runes one way or another; when Voldemort is finally finished for good, you will need a job, and Ancient Runes opens a few avenues. _

_Until next we meet,_

_Blaise_

Harry set the letter down thoughtfully. As expected, Blaise had put another spin on the situation, one that Harry hadn't considered prior to reading the letter. If Harry did turn out to have talent as a Seer, then that may help him in finishing Voldemort for good, which would then get Dumbledore off his back.

However, in the much more likely situation of being useless as a Seer, Harry would be taking a worse-than-useless class. Harry sighed. _I almost wish I wasn't the one tied to Voldemort through this damn scar. _He rubbed it absently as he thought. _Then I never would have needed to leave Terra. Things were simpler there. Kill a monster here, assassinate some crime lord there, keep an eye on the Sorceresses… I would have retired eventually, settled down, maybe had a kid or two. Who knows, maybe I could have been the Headmaster of Balamb Garden._

_:Dwelling on what might have been will do you no good, Harry,: _Quetz quietly reminded him. _:Instead, deal with the present and plan for your future, for life goes on, regardless of our wishes.: _

Harry nodded. _Time to write a letter to the Headmaster, then. Let's see if I can do whatever Hermione's doing. _

Dumbledore read Harry's latest letter curiously. "Harry really wants to take Ancient Runes," he murmured aloud. "If it were anyone else, I would allow them to transfer, as classes have not even started. Harry, however, may have some talent in Divination, and his scar connection may prove useful in augmenting whatever abilities he may have to divine Tom's plans, or even the locations of his Horcruxes." Despite his knowledge of the Horcruxes, Dumbledore only knew of a select few. The Gaunt Family Ring, passed down the line of Slytherin, was located in the ruins of the Gaunt mansion, Dumbledore knew. Tom's diary had already been destroyed thanks to Harry. Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket, Dumbledore knew existed, but not where. There were two missing, and lastly Voldemort himself contained the seventh part of his soul.

Dumbledore suspected that one of the missing Horcruxes was Harry's scar, but he was uncertain. There had been no attempts to place a Horcrux within another living being before, and Dumbledore honestly had no idea if the scar was a Horcrux or simply the remnant of the Killing Curse cast on that fateful Halloween night so long ago.

There was a spell to determine if an inanimate item had a soul inside it, which worked nicely for verifying a Horcrux, but it wasn't designed for living beings. It would detect a soul, true, but it wouldn't be able to tell if there was extra, or more than one soul. That was why Dumbledore allowed Harry to take Arithmancy; he would surely be suspicious of his own scar with the proper words, and would then do all of Dumbledore's work for him in designing the spell in the Spell Design NEWT level course.

However, Dumbledore also needed Harry to grow closer to Hagrid, as the half-giant had a dependence on Dumbledore that would ultimately be passed on to Harry. Thus, Harry needed to take Care of Magical Creatures to see Hagrid more and more often. Since students were supposed to only take two of the OWL classes – with a few exceptions – this meant that one of the classes needed to be changed to be required. Care of Magical Creatures was the easiest to convert, as most of the students took it anyway.

Now, however, Harry had an intriguing proposition. He was asking to be allowed to use the method Hermione Granger was using to take her extra classes. Dumbledore smirked. _No, he needs to see just how badly using a Time-Turner can affect the body and mind without experiencing it himself. Not only does it age your body faster than normal, but both mind and body become stressed without the proper sleep and break from work. Miss Granger, as his bookworm friend, will turn him against using a Time-Turner while not misusing it herself. After all, if Harry were to accidentally create a paradox of time… I'd rather not contemplate the possibilities. _

Dumbledore dipped a very expensive phoenix-feather quill into his pot of ink and began to write his reply.

Harry was unsurprised to see Dumbledore's negative response. _Independent Study it is, then, _he decided. _But first, I have to get that Patronus Charm down. Quetz, how's the magic? _

_:I am almost finished. You should have full control over your magic by the time you get on the train, though…: _Quetz hesitated.

_What is it? _

_:You're going to receive the other seventy percent of your magic all at once, and that could overwhelm your body, the results of which could be anything from simply being sore for a couple of days to lying in a coma for a week.:_

_Knowing my luck, it'll probably be the latter… what if I was to expend large quantities of magic as the floodgate opens? _

_:I see what you're getting at. That might work.: _

_Then that's the plan, and I'm sticking to it. Don't destroy the block until I say, ok?_

_:Understood.:_

Three days before Hogwarts Express was due to leave, Harry was studying his Ancient Runes at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor when he heard a familiar voice. "Harry!"

Harry turned around and saw Hermione rushing towards him. He smiled. "How ya doing, Hermione?"

Hermione beamed. "I'm doing great! Thanks again for arranging the goblins to set up those wards!"

Harry shrugged. "No problem. Looking forward to Hogwarts?"

"Of course! You do have all your homework done, right?"

Harry scoffed. "I got that finished in the first week back! Who do you take me for, Ron Weasley?" They shared a laugh at that. "So, you keep up your training?"

Hermione frowned. "I've kept in shape, but I haven't been able to practice using my whip. I think I'm a bit rusty."

Harry nodded. "Understandable. Don't worry, we'll fix that while we're at Hogwarts this year." He smiled grimly. "Who knows, maybe we'll have a chance to practice on something live by the end of the year."

Hermione frowned. _Does he mean Sirius Black, or does he mean taking us to Terra and having us face the monsters there? _Deciding she didn't want to know, Hermione dropped it. "Have you seen the others, yet?"

Just as Harry shook his head in response, his keen hearing picked up Theo's voice. "Daphne," Theo was whining, "are you sure he's not in the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Tom said he wasn't, so he wasn't," Daphne said shortly.

Harry grinned. "Speak of the devil," he muttered to Hermione. "Theo! Daphne! Over here!"

Two heads twisted to look at him before running over. "Blaise'll be along in a few minutes," Theo informed Harry, and sure enough, Blaise appeared a minute later, carrying a bag of books. In a matter of minutes, they were chatting naturally over ice cream sundaes, courtesy of Fortescue.

Harry got everyone up to date about his Ancient Runes situation, and Blaise observed something Harry hadn't. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe we all share all of the core classes, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Arithmancy, correct?"

Hermione nodded. "The only ones we don't share are my Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes with just you and me."

"Won't the other houses find themselves in similar situations?" Blaise asked. "By taking away one of the options and making it mandatory, Dumbledore has effectively reduced the number of class combinations possible. Before, when we had five classes to choose from, and we needed two, there were ten possible ways to combine them. Now that we have only four, there are six ways. Do you all understand me so far?" Everyone nodded. "Good. That means that before, for every six students that would originally be taking the class, now there will be ten. This situation results in larger classes, which further increases the possibility of interaction between the Houses."

"You lost me," Theo said confusedly. Then, after a moment, his eyes widened. "Never mind, I get it." Harry understood; Cerberus, Theo's Guardian Force, had explained what Blaise meant.

Daphne's eyes narrowed. "But doesn't that also mean that since there'll be more of each House, they'll just stick together?"

"You mean, all the Gryffindors will group together, all the Hufflepuffs will too, and so on?" Hermione asked. Daphne nodded.

"You have a point," Blaise conceded. "Smaller classes mean more personal interactions outside of one's House, but larger classes mean the Houses would have to interact as entities."

"OK, so what you're saying is while smaller classes force the students to talk to and work with students from other Houses, the larger classes we're going to have will make it so the people not only represent themselves, but their House, in front of the school body," Harry summarized.

Theo looked at Blaise and pointed at Harry. "See, why can't you talk like that? I understood him much better than what you were saying!"

Blaise gave a ghost of a smirk. "Because it's so entertaining to see your expressed stupefaction when I communicate and you fail to comprehend." Theo blinked, confused. Seeing this, the rest of his friends shared a laugh. Theo mock-scowled, but knew it was all in good fun.

They spent another couple of hours together, and at the end, Hermione had opted to go buy a pet, and chose what looked like a baby tiger but was in actuality a fully-grown tomcat named Crookshanks.

As it happened, Ron Weasley was buying some rat tonic for his rat at the same time, and when Harry approached, his Animagus sense tingled. He stiffened. _Animagus in the area. Nearby. Where? _Harry looked around in a casual manner, but was scanning the nearby crowd for any known Animagi. _No one I recognize. _Harry's eyes narrowed. _Unregistered. _He focused hard on the direction, and saw Ron talking to the pet shop owner. _No fucking way is he an Animagus. I would've known from the time we spent together at Hogwarts. _

_:What animal is it?:_

Harry frowned. _Small, furry, fearful. My gut says mouse or rat. _Harry glanced at the pet shop owner again, who was showing off several young white rats. _Could it be one of them? _

"Harry, is something wrong?" Hermione asked in a concerned voice.

A brief look at his friends showed that they were all looking at him confusedly. Harry nodded curtly. "I'll tell you later," he murmured in a low voice. Ron left shortly afterwards.

"Hey Harry. Sorry, no time to talk right now. See you on the train?" Ron greeted.

Harry nodded. "Later, Ron." As Ron left, so did Harry's perception of the Animagus. _That does it. _After Hermione bought Crookshanks, Harry guided them all to a safe corner.

"Either Ron or his rat is an Animagus," Harry informed them.

"The rat," his four friends stated together.

Harry nodded grimly. "That was my thought as well. The question is, who is he really? I remember Ron telling me about Scabbers, and how he was owned by Percy before he got him. He's been with the Weasleys for years."

"Interesting, an Animagus who has stayed in his form for years on end, living as a pet," Blaise mused. "Who would degrade themselves to such a thing, and why?"

No one knew, but Harry had a feeling that the rat Animagus was going to play a large role in his life. In what way, Harry had no idea, but he wasn't willing to risk it being bad. The next time he had the opportunity, he was going to Stun the rat and force it to reveal its true form.

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Now, the reason why Harry didn't sense Peter earlier is because he's been fine-tuning his magic, and he simply hadn't developed his Animagus sense to that point yet. Anyway, now Harry is aware of not one, but two unregistered Animagi outside of himself.

Poor Ron! No one even considered the possibility that he was an Animagus. evil grin Sorry, I don't much like Ron yet. He WILL get better, I promise.

Read and Review, please!


	2. Of Dementors and Boggarts

I'm SO SO SORRY about not posting yesterday. It completely slipped my mind while I was in college! Don't worry, Thursday will still have another chapter!

Sorry, but Pettigrew is not caught in this chapter. It instead focuses on the big, important classes, and how Draco's changed.

Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy is not nice in canon. He's getting better in mine. Thus, my story is not canon. Thus, I am not JKR.

Chapter Two: Of Dementors and Boggarts

It was finally September first, the day the Hogwarts Express was to leave. Harry hopped aboard quickly enough, heading towards the back compartment, and smiled. He was finally able to use magic now without getting in trouble. He pulled out the rubber ball he'd been practicing _Arresto Momentum _on the previous year and tossed it up. "_Arresto Momentum!_"

As usual, the ball slowed down, but did not stop. With his smaller reserves, Harry could now feel how much magic that drained out of him, and was glad to see that it was much less than he had been using when he had all of his magic. _Looks like my control's gotten better… hope that means I'll be able to use higher-level spells when Quetz unlocks the rest of my magic. _

Harry's friends joined him soon afterwards, and they quickly began a game of Gobstones as the train began its journey. Something, however, was nagging at Harry's mind. There was something he'd missed, and it had something to do with the train. About midway through the trip, Harry looked at his friends. "You ever get the feeling that there was something you're missing? Something that you should have realized, but you haven't?"

Daphne nodded. "Why, do you feel like that now?"

"Yeah, and it's driving me nuts!"

Theo shrugged. "Don't worry about it. You'll probably figure it out during the feast."

Harry was unconvinced, but nodded anyway, returning to the game of Gobstones. A minute later, Hermione shivered. "Is it just me, or is it getting cold all of a sudden?"

Blaise pointed at the window, which was fogging up and, to Harry's wonder, freezing so ice crystals could be seen. "If you wouldn't mind, Harry?" Blaise asked.

Harry knew what he was asking. He closed his eyes and threw his magical sense out, trying to determine what was doing this. It was magical in origin, that much was certain. Harry suddenly sensed a void, a magical cold capable of freezing anything in moments. And then, he could sense balls of energy in whatever it was, and they were – Harry froze – screaming in unholy torment. "Dear God," Harry gasped in horror.

This almost caused his friends to panic. Harry, the SeeD who killed for a living, and had faced thousands of monsters in his time, was horrified at what was out there. "What is it?" Hermione whispered.

"Souls, dozens of them, screaming. I can hear them," Harry whispered back. "I can only think of one thing. Dementors."

As Harry named the being that was the cause of this cold, the lamps went out and a skeletal hand pulled open their compartment door, which froze stiff at its touch. A figure clad in a black hooded robe glided in, its hand returning to the long sleeve of its robe. It looked at Harry and his friends, and Harry could suddenly feel a pounding at his shields. It was strong, very strong. Harry was unprepared for it and his shields broke, allowing the dementor's mental presence in. It was then that Harry started hearing voices in his head.

"_Run, Lily! Take Harry and run!" _

"_Silly girl, move aside. My target is not you, but the babe you carry."_

"_No, anything but Harry!"_

"Avada Kedavra!_"_

Harry slammed the memory to the back of his head, reinstating his Occlumency shields as the dementor approached. "You shall not have our souls!" _Now, Quetz, unlock the magic now! _Harry took a deep breath of the frigid air and raised his wand. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" Harry bellowed with all his might as he felt all of his magic come back to him in a tidal wave of power.

The tip of Harry's wand glowed and shot a thick silver mist in front of him. The dementor merely waved it off. Harry grimaced in both frustration and pain as his full weight of magic was running through his veins once more. He glanced back down at his friends, who were still stuck reliving their memories. _I need to be strong for them! _"_Expecto Patronum!_" Harry yelled again, and once again his wand let loose a thick silver mist. The dementor pushed forward a bit, and the mist dissipated. _Gah! Come on, why won't the bloody spell work? Well, if I can't beat it one way… _Harry pulled at one of his Terran spells, preparing to cast it. "Let's see how much you like Holy!" Harry growled as his free hand began glowing a whitish pink.

The dementor hesitated, sensing the power of Holy, and knowing that it would be destroyed if the spell hit him. It desperately wanted to feast on the boy's soul, as it contained the power of thousands within. If the dementor succeeded, it would surely become the Head Dementor and never need to suck another soul for the next hundred years. On top of that, the dementor could sense a remnant of the magic of its former master, the one who proclaimed himself Lord Voldemort. Nevertheless, the dementor's survival instincts kicked in and fled from the boy's holy light.

Harry reabsorbed his Holy spell when the dementor retreated. _Damn it! _he thought weakly as he fell to his knees in pain. _I won't collapse, I won't collapse, I won't collapse… _Just then, an adult Harry didn't recognize burst into the room. The adult saw Hermione, Blaise, Theo and Daphne get up and was relieved; they hadn't lost their souls. He looked at the kneeling form of Harry, worried, but when the raven-haired boy's head jerked up to look at the intruder, Remus Lupin's worry evaporated. _They're fine… thank Merlin! _

"Let me guess, a dementor came in without warning," Remus said. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled a bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of his pocket and broke it up into five large chunks. "The chocolate'll pick you up."

Everyone turned to Harry, who reached up with a shaky hand to take the chunk proferred. He couldn't sense any magical poison, so he nodded at his friends, who then took theirs and ate quickly. Almost immediately, Harry could see them regain their color. Harry ate his, then, and immediately felt much better. The frigid cold of the dementor had been banished from his insides with the warm chocolate, and even the pain induced by destroying his magical inhibitor was lessened.

Harry stood up, ignoring the now moderate pain. "Who're you?" Harry asked shortly.

"I'm Remus Lupin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Remus introduced himself. "And you all are?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Theodore Nott."

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Blaise Zabini."

Harry looked at Remus's amber eyes and then smiled. "Harry Potter. It's good to see you, Remus."

Remus put a hand on Harry's head and mussed up his long hair. "Hey, Harry, it's good to see you, too."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "Don't muss it up! I spent a long time growing out this hair so it wouldn't be messy all the time!" At the same time, though, he grinned. "So, you got my letter, eh?"

Remus nodded. "As soon as I heard from your owl – very smart owl you've got, by the way – I applied for the Defense position. So, where were you for all these years?"

Harry cocked his head. A brief Legilimency probe proved that Remus had Occlumency shields, strong ones at that. The odd thing, though, was that they seemed wilder than most. _To tell or not to tell… I'd best make sure he won't go and immediately tell Dumbledore. _"I've been at the Dursleys, hidden by Dumbledore! Surely he told you?"

Remus immediately knew that something was off. He distinctly remembered when Dumbledore no longer knew where Harry was, that Harry had run away from the Dursleys. And now Harry was claiming to have been with the Dursleys all along? He suspected a Memory Charm. But who would have erased Harry's memories of his true past? Remus didn't know, but he planned on asking Dumbledore, so he could find out.

Harry's magical sense of Remus was strange. He wasn't an Animagus, Harry could tell, but there was something akin to it within him. It was almost as if it was a failed Animagus transformation, but the animal consciousness still remained. His sense told him that the animal was swift, powerful and merciless. Yet he also felt loyalty from it, to its family, _its pack, _Harry thought. _I'm thinking wolf. But, it's not an Animagus form. Wait a minute, didn't Professor Snape say that Lupin was a werewolf? _The metaphorical light bulb lit in Harry's head. _OK, so I can sense werewolves too. Hmm, with a little work, I think he could make the werewolf an Animagus form… _

Remus forced a smile. "It looks like there are a few things I've missed. Anyway, I need to check up on the rest of the train. I look forward to seeing you in class."

"Thank you, Professor."

"By the way, you didn't happen to hear anyone shouting something like _'Expecto Patronum'_ did you?" Remus asked on his way out.

"Sorry, no," Harry lied convincingly. "What's that charm?"

"It's the Patronus Charm, the only spell that can repel dementors," Remus told him.

"Any chance you could teach me?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's very highly advanced magic," Remus said sadly. "A third year just doesn't have the power needed to do it."

"But Harry's more powerful than some of the sixth years we know!" Theo blurted. "He's almost mastered the _Arresto Momentum _spell!"

Remus's eyebrows went up almost all the way to his receding hairline. "Is that so? Let's see it, then."

Harry nodded and pulled out his rubber ball. Tossing it up in the air, Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration. There was nothing in the world but the ball and himself for a moment. "_Arresto Momentum!_"

Invisible magical nets weaved themselves underneath the rubber ball very quickly and began slowing it down, powered by Harry's strength of will and magic. Now that Harry's control had improved, and his full magical core was available once more – though partially depleted at his attempts at the Patronus Charm – the rubber ball came to a halt at about Harry's waistline.

Remus looked at it, then at Harry in astonishment. It had taken him weeks getting that particular spell down in his sixth year. Harry didn't even look tired. _Damn, just how much magic does Harry have? _"Unfortunately, though I want to teach you, I really do, I can't for a while. It's my first time teaching, and I need to make sure I have that down first, so as not to strain myself. I get ill very easily I'm afraid."

Harry shrugged at Remus's explanation. Remus's secret wasn't his to reveal just yet. "How does the Patronus Charm work?"

Remus smiled. "The key to the Patronus Charm is, quite literally, happiness. You have to cast the incantation while thinking of a truly happy memory. Then, your Patronus comes out, acting as a shield between the dementor and you."

Harry frowned. "But, don't dementors feed on happiness to leave us only with despair? If a Patronus is the embodiment of our happiness, then wouldn't that just make it more of a meal for the dementors?"

Remus shook his head, proud of the question. "No, though I can see where you got that idea. A dementor must prepare its food, just like us. The aura of dementors, though invisible, will quash the happiness of those in its presence, bringing out the more… edible I guess is the word, unhappy memories. Since a Patronus, when properly formed, has no unhappy memories, it can take on the dementor and keep you from its effects."

Harry nodded, absorbing the information. _So, the Patronus Charm requires happy memories? No wonder it wasn't working… I wonder what would happen if I somehow mixed a Holy with the Patronus… might be enough to kill dementors! I better look into it… _

Remus got up. "As I was saying, I should go check up on the rest of the train. Goodbye."

"Bye, Professor!" Harry and his friends chorused as Remus left. Once Remus was out of earshot – and Harry made them wait a little longer, knowing about Remus's werewolf hearing – Harry turned to his friends. "Looks like we got us a spell to learn."

Not long after that, Harry and his friends changed into their Hogwarts robes, and Harry wondered idly where Draco had gone. He hadn't stopped by Harry's cabin during the train ride for once, and it set Harry on edge, like he was waiting for something that wasn't going to come.

It was only as Harry stepped off the train that he realized that it wasn't only the fact that Draco hadn't entered Harry's compartment to bother him as usual that was bugging him; there was a known rat Animagus on the train that Harry had yet to confront.

Harry looked at Ron out of the corner of his eye. He had a rat to catch, but he had to do it subtly; if Ron knew of Harry's suspicions, he'd never let Harry touch him. Ron jumped into a carriage with Dean and Seamus before Harry had the chance to ask about the rat. Cursing under his breath, Harry joined his friends in their carriage, staying silent until

Harry watched the Sorting absently, preoccupied with plotting how to get Scabbers. _Can't tell him that I know Scabbers is an Animagus, he'll tell Dumbledore or quite simply not believe me. And what if Dumbledore already knows? Hmm, that means I need to get the rat away from Ron, if only for a few seconds. _He contemplated the idea of just Summoning the rat to his hand and using _Animagus Reverto _before anyone could stop him, but that was an entirely too rash for Harry's thoughts. It would alert everyone that Harry could sense Animagi, and also deprive Harry of a possible source of information. He had to do it in private.

Harry wished he could just use Seth to infiltrate the Gryffindor common room and steal Scabbers as Ron slept, but even though Seth was magical, he was still a snake. It would be all too easy for Seth to accidentally swallow. However, as Harry's eyes turned to a hazel-eyed redhead bearing a green crest, he realized that wasn't the only route… _"Ginny," _he hissed in a low voice.

Ginny's eyes snapped onto Harry. Having recognized the hissing of Parseltongue, she responded in kind. _"What's up, Harry?"_

_"I need you to do me a favor…" _

Thusly, at the end of dinner when everyone was leaving, Ginny walked over to her youngest brother. "Hey, Ron."

"Hey, Ginny," Ron greeted. "What's up?"

"Not much yet, we only just arrived," Ginny said teasingly. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could borrow Scabbers for a bit."

Ron lightly patted his pocket where his beloved pet rat was sleeping. "Why?"

"A friend of mine in Slytherin found a spell that needs a magical rat to work. Don't worry, Scabbers won't be hurt one way or another," Ginny explained, using the excuse Harry gave her.

"Which friend?" Ron asked curiously.

"Harry," Ginny admitted.

Ron looked over at Harry, who was watching him back. "I'm not sure he's magical, since he's so lazy, but alright." But, just as he reached his hand into his pocket, Scabbers bit him! "Ow!" he yelped, bringing his hand flying back out of his pocket, rat attached.

Scabbers let go while Ron was shaking his hand and flew off, landing on all fours near the wall. Harry leapt to his feet, flicking his left wrist to send his wand jumping from his holster to his hand. He couldn't let the Animagus get away now! "_Accio rat!_"

But it was too late; Scabbers had already found a crack in the wall and had entered, thereby encasing himself with the immense magic within Hogwarts's stones. In doing so, he was now protected from Harry's Summoning Charm.

Harry was very close to yelling in frustration, but managed to turn his face into a mask of consolation as he looked at Ron. "Sorry I couldn't get him."

Ron was a little upset. "Why did Scabbers bite me? He's never bitten me before…"

_He must have thought that he would be discovered when the so-called spell failed, lacking a true magical rat, _Harry thought bitterly. _Now I'll never find him. Damn it! _"I could have Seth go and find him," Harry offered, "but he's a snake… I'm not sure he could stop himself from eating the rat."

"I know. Thanks for the offer, though," Ron said sadly. "Maybe he'll come back eventually." Harry hoped so; he didn't like the idea of being constantly on guard for an Animagus attack. "So, what spell were you going to use anyway?"

"A simple healing spell to see how much magic extends a rat's life," Harry lied.

_:Speaking of which, didn't Madame Pomfrey talk to you about learning healing from her in your first year, but you needed to know the basics from first and second year first?:_ Quetz reminded him.

_You're right! _Harry realized as he started walking away. _Better go talk to her. _

_:Just so you know, you're now able to use your entire Beginner level Terran spells without adverse effects. And the Holy you called up, since you didn't technically cast it, didn't affect your magic.:_

_Good. _It felt good to know that he could use the spells; it gave him an extra back-up weapon. _Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Cure, Esuna, Water, Silence, Blind, Slow. That gives me an impressive selection of silent spells. _

_:Indeed, but do not forget to practice mastering silent wizarding spells,: _Quetz warned. _:We may find ourselves in a situation without Terran spells.:_

Harry frowned as he made his way back to the hospital wing. _When would that happen? Oh well, at least doing that will help me master the more advanced silent spells._

A minute later, Harry entered the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey was stocking her shelves with potions. "Hello, Madame Pomfrey," Harry greeted.

Pomfrey whirled, shocked by Harry's appearance; he had been completely silent, or she had been so preoccupied that she hadn't noticed his approach. As a result, the potions she had flew out of her hands, flying towards Harry.

On instinct, Harry dove forwards, twisting so he'd land on his back. His wand jumped to his hand and he pointed it with the aim of a sharpshooter. "_Immobulus!_" Harry barked as the potions flew over him.

The potions froze a few inches away from the wall, and Madame Pomfrey breathed a sigh of relief, though her hand was still on her heart from surprise. "Nice instincts," she commented. "You'd do well as an Auror."

"Thank you," Harry said, calming his heart. He had no idea what potions those were, and they could easily have been enough dreamless sleep to put him in a coma for weeks. He gingerly took the potions from midair and passed them to Pomfrey, who put them away.

"So, Mr. Potter, why are you here? You don't look ill…" Pomfrey said critically.

"I was wondering if I could take you up on the Healing lessons you offered in my first year," Harry told her.

Now that Harry had reminded her, Pomfrey wondered how she had forgotten. Harry had saved Severus's life, and healed Minerva, after the troll attack. Pomfrey hesitated. "You're going to be very busy. Are you certain you want to devote time to learning Healing? This will be very difficult."

Harry nodded. "I don't want to just be able to destroy things. I'd like to be able to heal people too." _I want to make sure I can take care of my friends… I might be the only one available, and I don't want to be useless in healing situations._

"Then here's the first lesson. To heal requires almost perfect control of your magic," Pomfrey lectured. "Not putting enough magic in will provide a weak result, and too much may cause magical complications that are much harder to get rid of." Harry thought about that for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Now, what healing spells do you know?"

"_Episkey_, a general antidote for poisons, and a general spell for healing both internal and external wounds," Harry reported. _I am sure as hell not going to mention that I can bring back the recently deceased with Life and Full-Life. _

Pomfrey looked interested. "I've never heard of the last two. Care to demonstrate?"

Harry nodded before realizing that there was a problem. _Cure doesn't need a wand to work, and I can't afford to show myself using wandless magic. I just hope that the wand doesn't amplify too much… _Pomfrey conjured a rabbit and, using a scalpel, made a deep cut in its leg before looking at Harry expectantly. Harry drew his wand and pointed it. _Cure! _

Harry's wand shivered in his hand as it took and amplified the spell before releasing a large pink jet of light, which struck the rabbit. The rabbit glowed pink for a moment as the cut closed in seconds, much to Pomfrey's surprise.

Pomfrey drew her own wand and did a nonverbal diagnostic spell. The rabbit was fine, in perfect health, actually. She looked at Harry in awe. "How powerful is that spell?"

Harry recalled what he had learned about the Cure spell. "It's able to heal superficial wounds, realign broken and dislocated bones, and increase the production of blood for a short time. It also has the capability of partially healing internal wounds. It's also a very powerful weapon against undead creatures as a holy element spell," he said absently.

"What's the incantation?" Pomfrey asked eagerly.

"Cure," Harry said without thinking. _Shit! I didn't mean to reveal that much information! _"But only I can use it from my experience," he hastily amended.

"We'll see about that, Mr. Potter," Madame Pomfrey said impatiently as she made another deep gash in the rabbit's leg. "Cure!" Nothing happened. "Come on, Cure!" Again, nothing happened.

Harry sighed. "Cure," he said calmly, and the rabbit's leg once again healed.

Pomfrey looked at Harry incredulously. "That spell, medics have been trying to find an equivalent for centuries! How is that you knew it as a first year!"

Harry shrugged. "I'm strange like that."

"How much does it take out of you?" Pomfrey demanded.

Harry thought for a second. "Well, if I truly needed to, I could cast five hundred Cure spells every couple of weeks." _Because every two weeks my Beginner level spells double. _"Wouldn't recommend it, though," Harry continued. "My Cure spell is… different somehow… than other wizarding magic. If I use Cure too often, I'll stunt my magical core's growth."

"Which is why you want to learn how to heal using wizarding magic?" Pomfrey asked. Harry nodded. "Makes sense. Come back tomorrow after your classes for your next lesson."

On his way back to the Slytherin Common Room, Harry mentally reviewed his memories of what had happened during the Sorting Ceremony. _So, Hagrid's the Care of Magical Creatures teacher now? It figures; who else would assign a biting book? _Harry was also proud of him. He had shown that despite the unfortunate framing in his third year, Hagrid could still ascend to a respected position.

Draco Malfoy was waiting for him when he got there. "Potter," he said slowly, "why is it that some people are saying that they saw a dementor flee from your cabin? _Before _Lupin got there?"

Harry smirked. "Let's just say that I've got a trump card that no mere dementor could hope to beat."

Draco's eyes widened. "You can drive them away?"

"In a manner of speaking," Harry acknowledged. "But my way is unique to me. I'm working on the Patronus Charm, which is more reliable. Besides, I don't want to reveal just how strong I am just yet, you understand me?" Draco nodded. Inside, he was struck by the fact that Harry was more Slytherin than he was; Harry was cunning, ruthless, and very capable of deception. "I suggest you ask your father for training in the Patronus Charm," Harry continued. "By the way, what did you do about that person responsible for the diary last year?"

Draco frowned. "I freed one of the house-elves. I staged it as an accident, but I can't do much more without risking my own life."

Harry nodded. "Be safe, Draco. And remember, not all of us hate you for your heritage. Everyone has the potential for good or evil, it's all in your choices." With that, he left for bed, leaving a thoughtful Draco in his wake.

Remus Lupin was walking up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, determined to find the answers to his questions. He knocked on the door. "Come in, Remus."

Remus walked inside and faced the imperturbable Headmaster. "Hello, Professor."

"Call me Albus. After all, we are colleagues now, are we not?" Dumbledore asked.

"Alright… Albus." This momentarily threw Remus, but he quickly returned to the point of his visit. "I've some questions about Harry."

"I'm sure you do. After all, we were looking for him for quite some time," Dumbledore agreed. "What would you like to know?"

"Where did you find him?"

"He reappeared in Privet Drive shortly before his eleventh birthday," Dumbledore said easily. "He seemed to have no recollection of having been gone, and was understandably quite distressed at having an eleven-year-old body. To save him some pain, I planted a few memories of a life at the Dursleys. When he is old enough, I will remove these false memories and tell him the truth."

When put like that, Remus couldn't exactly find fault with Dumbledore's actions. "I see. How is he?"

"Physically, he's very fit. More fit than just about any other wizard or witch, I expect. He has very few if any scars."

"And mentally?" Remus prodded.

Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling. "Very determined, very stubborn. He, according to the Sorting Hat, could have gone into any of the Houses, but he chose Slytherin. I'm not certain why, and have checked a few times to see if he regrets that decision. He stands by it."

"Has he made any friends?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He's very close to four students in particular: Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. All but Hermione are in Slytherin. Together, they managed to save the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort in their first year."

Remus's jaw dropped in shock, and Dumbledore chuckled, not mentioning the fact that he still had the Stone and was using it to create Elixir of Life. He needed to live until he could absorb Harry's magic, which would give him the power he needed to become one of the fabled Immortals.

The next morning, Harry was pleased to see that his friends were up and ready for their training. Unfortunately, they could no longer go outside to practice their weapons training, but they had a new spell, a very difficult, post-NEWT level spell to learn. So, Harry and his friends retreated to the abandoned classroom they had claimed as their personal training room.

"So, we're going to practice the Patronus Charm?" Blaise asked blandly.

Harry nodded. "Remember what Professor Lupin said. The key is the happiness behind the memory. Since we can't exactly practice on a dementor right now, we'll just have to do without. The incantation is _Expecto Patronum._ Let's spend a few moments finding some happy memories."

Harry wasn't sure which memory was his happiest, so he concentrated on the memory of his first time on a broomstick.

"I've got mine," Hermione said a few moments later.

"As have I," Blaise agreed five seconds later.

"Ready," Daphne stated shortly.

"Good to go," Theo announced.

"OK. Let's do this!" Harry said inspirationally.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" five voices yelled together… and five jets of silver mist flew out before dissipating.

Hermione looked disappointed, and Harry knew why; she was always the one to get things first, and she had been hoping to get it on her first try. "Must not be a strong enough memory," Harry commented.

They tried for half an hour before Hermione warned that she was running low on magic. Harry nodded, knowing they needed to conserve some for that day's classes, but still frustrated that he couldn't get the spell. He had the feeling that there was something he wasn't quite doing, and it frustrated him to no end.

His schedule, when he received it at breakfast, didn't help any. He had Double Potions with the Gryffindors first, then Divination and then Care of Magical Creatures. Thankfully, Potions passed without incident, with Harry making a near-perfect potion. Only Hermione's was better.

Finally, it was time for Divination, located in the North Tower. Theo looked at Daphne. "Do you know how to get there?"

Daphne shook her head mutely, turning to Hermione, who shrugged. Everyone stared at her; and Hermione blushed lightly. "What? I can't be expected to know everything!"

"Coulda fooled me," Theo muttered under his breath so everyone but Hermione could hear. Harry had to repress a grin at that, and was even more amused to see Blaise struggling to keep his indifferent face. "So, do you know how to get there, Harry?"

Harry frowned. "I think so, but the last time I did was back in my first year when I was exploring."

"Lead the way, then," Hermione urged.

Harry shrugged and began walking briskly to the stairs. Climbing up seven flights of stairs, Harry and his friends found themselves on a landing with nothing but a large painting of grass hung on a stone wall. Harry closed his eyes, trying to recall which way to the North Tower. "This way," he said after a few moments, heading down the corridor to the left.

After a few minutes of walking, Harry and his friends came across a narrow spiral staircase. Harry hesitated before nodding. "Up here."

"We don't have much longer before class starts," Theo pointed out. "We need to hurry."

So they ran up the stairs, which went up and up and up… finally, they heard the murmur of voices above them, meaning they were close. They jumped up the last few steps – they were only slightly winded from the long climbs, thanks to the intense training they'd been doing.

Most of the class was already assembled on the tiny landing, and Harry noted absently that they shared Divination with the Gryffindors. There were no doors from what Harry could see, but he did see a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.

"Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher," Harry read aloud.

"How're we supposed to get up there?" one Gryffindor – Parvati Patil, Harry noted – asked.

The trapdoor opened suddenly, as if it was answering the question, and a silvery ladder descended down to Harry's feet. There was silence for a moment. "Reckon Trelawney heard her?" Harry asked Daphne, who shrugged.

"Anything's possible with magic," she answered. "Now get up there!"

Harry climbed the ladder quickly, nimble as a monkey. He emerged in what could have been the strangest place he'd ever seen, and that was saying something. It didn't look like a classroom at all, more like a combination of an attic and a very old-fashioned tea shop. There were more than twenty small tables surrounded by chintz armchairs and little poufs. Harry looked around for the source of the dim red lighting, and noticed that the lamps were covered by dark red scarves, and the curtains were closed. _That explains the lighting_.

It was also very warm, too warm for Harry's comfort, and there was a fire under the mantelpiece giving off a heavy, sickly perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. Harry almost had to hold his breath, the perfume was so strong. _Who could live like this? _

Harry's friends appeared at his sides as the large class assembled, talking in whispers. Harry reached out with his sense to locate the teacher, and his eyes snapped onto a shadowy area in a corner. "Professor Trelawney, why don't you come out?" Harry asked coolly.

Trelawney, though no one could tell while she was in the shadows, was quite surprised. She was completely in the shadows, and hadn't thought anyone could see her. _Does he have the Sight? _"Welcome," she said in a soft, misty voice as she stepped out of the shadows. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Harry was curious; could she really see the astral plane or something? He used a brief Legilimency scan on her, and found that she was really faking having the Inner Eye herself, but knew quite a bit about Divination. His respect for this teacher dropped a couple of notches, and Harry steeled himself for an onslaught of fake predictions and a long school year.

"Sit, my children, sit," Trelawney said in her misty voice, and everyone climbed into an armchair or sank onto poufs. As a SeeD that specialized in disguise, Harry had picked up a few noble habits very well, and demonstrated them by very elegantly seating himself in an armchair. There were four seats per table, so it appeared for a moment that one of Harry's friends would have to join someone else. Hermione got up immediately, but Harry shook his head at her and got up himself. He knew that Theo and Daphne would want to stay together, and Hermione and Blaise had matching personalities that worked well together. He wouldn't be surprised if they got together over the next few years.

However, Harry himself didn't exactly have a personal partner among his friends. He was more than a little surprised, on the other hand, when Ron Weasley invited him over to his table with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Of course, he showed little sign of his shock, and accepted graciously.

"Welcome to Divination," Trelawney said, having seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. _How can she stand that strong perfume? _Harry wondered. _Does she have no sense of smell? _

_:Maybe she sacrificed it in the hopes of getting the Inner Eye?: _Quetz joked. Harry barely kept from sniggering.

"My name is Professor Trewlawney," she continued. "You may not have seen me before; I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye." _More like she's a recluse who stays up here because the teachers know she's a fraud, _Harry thought to himself. Quetz silently agreed. No one said anything to answer Trelawney, so she rearranged her shawl and cleared her throat to continue. "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field…"

Harry looked over his shoulder at Hermione with a grin, noticing to his amusement that she looked most disgruntled at the idea that books wouldn't be much help. Shaking his head, still grinning, he turned back around to face the teacher, only to see a grin on Ron's face. "Bookworm, isn't she?" he asked in a tone that told Harry that he knew full well that Hermione was a bookworm. Harry thought he must have experienced some of Hermione's nagging about homework before.

Harry didn't deny it. "But that's not a bad thing, though."

"True," Ron admitted quietly. "Just different."

Before Harry could reply to that, Trelawney began to speak again. "Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings" – Harry could have sworn that Ron had muttered something about Fred and George at that moment – "are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future. It is a Gift granted to very few." Trelawney put on a very serious face, her large eyes behind her enormous spectacles gleaming as she moved from face to face. Harry let out a very quiet snort as she reached him. She wasn't really using the Sight there, but instead was looking for a couple of people she heard about so she could make a semi-decent prediction.

"You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who looked quite taken aback. "Is your grandmother well?"

Neville suddenly looked a bit unsure. "Last time I checked she was…"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," Trelawney said sadly, her earrings gleaming in the dancing firelight. "In any case, we will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati turned slightly to see Ron and quickly turned away, scooting a little further from him. Harry rolled his eyes. "In the second turn," Trelawney went on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball – if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

There was a tense silence at that, one that Harry internally scoffed at. _Flu always takes place around February! Some prediction! And that 'one of our number will leave us forever' is pretty vague, she could mean all sorts of things! _

"I wonder, dear," Trelawney said to Lavender Brown, who was sitting by Parvati, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?" Lavender looked relieved that Trelawney hadn't made a prediction about her, and did as requested. "Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading – it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

Harry let out a small sigh. _It's going to be a long year… _A few minutes later, and one broken teacup due to Neville's clumsiness, Harry and Ron filled their teacups and did their best to drink the scalding tea quickly. The fact that it was already very hot in the room did nothing to help. Then they swilled the dregs with their left hand and then turned the cups upside down on their saucers, waiting for the last of the tea to drain.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. Neither thought this was going to work, and the other knew it. They swapped cups and opened their copies of _Unfogging the Future _to pages five and six as Trelawney had instructed.

Harry looked into the cup. At first, all he saw was a load of soggy brown stuff, due to the combination of heat and heavy perfume fogging up his brain. But then, somehow, the symbols within the teacup began to, for lack of better word, grow beyond the teacup, forcefully impressing the images upon Harry, whose eyes widened. "You've got a cross here, and a lamb here. Oh, but there's a knife approaching the lamb!" Harry furiously looked through the pages. "You're going to have 'trials and suffering' – that's the cross – and the lamb represents innocence… the knife means loss, so… you're going to undergo quite a bit of suffering, and lose your innocence."

"An excellent reading, Mr. Potter!" Trelawney said from right behind him, making Harry jump. _I can't believe I was so into it that I didn't even notice her approach! And what's going on? I thought I'd be rubbish at Divination! _For once, Quetz was speechless. _Did you sense any part of my magic activating? _Harry demanded.

_:I wasn't paying attention to it, sorry.:_

The whole class was now staring at Harry after Trelawney's announcement. Harry looked around slowly, seeing dropped jaws and incredulous looks. _Why do I get the feeling that the next Daily Prophet's going to call me a True Seer tomorrow? _Harry asked Quetz calmly.

"Class, I think we've just found a True Seer!" Trelawney cried.

_:That's why,: _Quetz said deadpan.

Before Harry could protest, Trelawney took his cup from Ron and shoved it at him. Harry looked blankly at her. "Well, tell us what's in your future!" Trelawney urged.

Harry sighed and looked at the teacup. He blinked as the fumes of the classroom started to get to him again, but nothing came to him. He shook his head. "It doesn't seem to work when I want it to."

Trelawney nodded sagely. "That is often the case with young, potential Seers. Do not worry, Mr. Potter, it shall come to you in time. Now, I believe we should leave the lesson here for today. Yes, please pack away your things…"

Silently, the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney and packed their books. Everyone was whispering about Harry, and as much as Harry didn't like it, he knew that his unexpected talent in Divination warranted the talk. He saw Blaise looking at him smugly and groaned. "Yes, Blaise, I know! You were right, I had talent in Divination…" Blaise's smirk grew. "Don't push it, or I'll tell everyone how you predicted my talent, and then _you'll _be everyone's True Seer." Blaise's smirk vanished, and one appeared on Harry's face. "That's better."

Hermione giggled softly at Harry's one-sided conversation with Blaise, shaking her head in amusement. Who would have thought that Harry, gunblade specialist in a mercenary program in a different dimension, would actually have a talent in one of the most imprecise of magics?

Now, Gryffindors and Slytherins had Care of Magical Creatures together. Harry wondered idly why Gryffindor and Slytherin were paired up so often. Slytherin had Herbology, History of Magic and Ancient Runes with Ravenclaw, and Astronomy and Arithmancy with the Hufflepuffs. The rest of the classes, Slytherin and Gryffindor shared.

_Is Dumbledore trying to make me interact with the Gryffindors? _Harry pondered. _I already have a connection to them via Hermione, why do I need to… right, the Weasleys! Dumbledore wanted me to get close to them, I remember now. And since four out of five of them are currently in Gryffindor right now, he wants me to get along with all of them, not just Ginny. Speaking of whom, how's she doing? _Harry realized that he hadn't checked up on her for quite some time, and made a mental note to do just that after Care of Magical Creatures.

Harry and his friends began walking down to Hagrid's hut, the location of the lesson. Harry was greatly looking forward to Hagrid's class. He knew the half-giant would, with his affinity for various creatures, bring an interesting one to class. He voiced this to his friends, who looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Harry, he had a pet Cerberus he named Fluffy," Theo pointed out incredulously.

"He's got good taste in pets," Harry said happily. "Powerful, loyal, intelligent pets. Wouldn't you like a pet like that?"

When put that way, none of his friends could argue with him, so they let the matter of Harry's strange appreciation for viciously strong creatures drop. "Hey, he's able to use magic now, right?" Theo asked suddenly. "Now that the Chamber of Secrets thing was cleared up?"

Harry nodded with a broad grin, happy for his friend. Hagrid had finally gotten rid of his pink umbrella, and at the dinner last night, he had a wand. They reached the hut, followed soon by the other Gryffindors and Slytherins. Draco Malfoy was, unexpectedly, quiet. Harry almost expected him to be insulting Hagrid behind his back or something.

Hagrid had been waiting at the door of his hut, wearing his moleskin coat, and his right hand holding a very large wand. "C'mon now, get a move on!" he was saying excitedly. "Got a real treat today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

Harry's grin broadened at Hagrid's enthusiasm. _If anyone deserves this job, it's you Hagrid. _He and the rest of the students followed Hagrid, some warily, to a kind of paddock. It appeared to be empty. "Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" Hagrid called. "Make sure yeh can see! Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open your books."

"How?" Draco drawled.

"Eh?" Hagrid asked, blinking in confusion.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated, taking out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_, which was bound shut with a length of rope.

Harry smirked; he had been waiting for this question. "What are you, an idiot? Stroke the spine!" Most of the rest of the class nodded at Harry's response, showing their unbound books and stroking their spines to open the book.

Malfoy flushed a little, embarrassed. He looked away. "No one told me."

Harry took pity on him. "Hey, you must've gotten a copy while the shopkeeper was having trouble with them. I had to tell him the secret, so don't worry about it."

Draco looked at Harry in surprise. _Is Potter offering an olive branch? _Draco was slowly learning that Harry had been right when they first met. No one house was better than any other, and no one person was superior to any other just because of the circumstances of their birth. A Muggleborn could cast spells just as well as a pureblood, evidenced by Granger. Purebloods, halfbloods and Muggleborns could all get along effectively, as shown through Harry's group. "Thanks," Draco said quietly. _Perhaps… perhaps Father's way isn't the only way for me. _

Harry smiled and turned back to Hagrid, who had been silent, sensing that the moment had marked a significant change in Hogwarts. Hagrid cleared his throat as those who hadn't quickly stroked their books' spines. Hagrid smiled back at Harry. "Right then, I'll be righ' back. I've got ter go an' get 'em. Hang on, yer gonna like this!"

Hagrid strode away from them quickly into the forest and out of sight. "Why?" a low voice whispered near Harry. Harry turned to see Draco's grey eyes looking at him intensely. "Why are you being kind to me, when all I've done is belittle you?" Draco asked quietly enough for no one but himself and Harry to hear.

Harry smiled. "I know who's responsible for the diary last year, Draco."

Draco's eyes widened. "How?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not revealing my sources. But I respect that your sense of right and wrong, while still developing, is enough to compel you to go against him, even if it is in secret."

Draco didn't know whether to be angry or proud. He chose neither. "I know perfectly well the difference between right and wrong, Potter. However, as a Slytherin, I do not do something just because it is the honorable, 'right' thing to do. I do what I must." He hesitated. "On the other hand, you and your friends are proving my Father's beliefs wrong, and you're restoring the honor and pride of Slytherin house. Now, I might not have to follow _his _path." He turned and walked a little ways away.

"You've got a long way to go, Draco," Harry murmured. "But if you keep as you are, you will surpass the reputation around your family name and gain the trust of the Light."

"Oooooooh, look!" squealed Lavender, pointing at the other side of the paddock. Harry turned and saw a dozen somewhat bizarre creatures. He wasn't too impressed yet, though, as he'd seen much more bizarre on Terra. They had the bodies, hind legs and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings and heads of giant eagles. Hagrid followed them, with chains in his hand leading to collars around their necks. Hagrid tied them to the fence and waved at the class.

"Hippogriffs!" he cried happily. "Beautiful aren' they?"

"You bet!" Harry agreed, looking at the seamless way feathers melted into hairs where the eagle and horse parts met.

Hagrid beamed. "So, if yeh want ter come a bit nearer…" Harry immediately stepped forward, followed closely by his friends. The others watched from a distance. "Now, the first thing ter know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easy offended, they are. Never insult one, as it might be the last thing yeh ever do."

That made sense to Harry. Those beaks and talons looked rather sharp.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow – ter show respect, yeh know – an' then yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, back off quick, otherwise he migh' attack. So, who wants ter go first?"

Harry hesitated for a moment. He'd already put himself in the spotlight for the day… but everyone else was looking at those sharp talons and powerful hind legs. He sighed. "I'll do it."

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid said proudly as Harry planted one hand on top of the fence and pushed hard, throwing his legs and torso out sideways to get over the fence and then quickly put them back upright to land. "Right then, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

Hagrid untied one of the chains and pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows, slipping off the collar. The class, even Draco, seemed to be holding its breath. Harry began to approach, and to everyone's shock, the hippogriff's fierce orange eyes widened, and it immediately bent on its scaly front knees and bowed without being bowed to first.

Harry cocked his head slightly in confusion. "That supposed to happen?" he asked without turning to look at Hagrid.

Hagrid scratched his head. "Tha's the firs' time I've ever seen a hippogriff do that. Best be polite and bow back."

Harry nodded and bowed back. The hippogriff now approached Harry and nuzzled his head beneath Harry's hand, and Harry immediately began to stroke it, and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, enjoying the attention. The class broke into applause, except for Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode, who looked at Harry in disdain.

"Righ' then, Harry!" Hagrid said, pleased. "I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"

Harry was instantly cautious. He _loved _to fly, but that was under his own power, either in his Animagus form or on a broomstick. He had the feeling that a hippogriff would be rather different. But he swallowed and followed Hagrid's instructions to climb up.

"Mindful of the feathers, he won' like that," Hagrid warned. "Go on, then!" He slapped the hippogriff's hindquarters, and without warning, the wings Harry had seen earlier expanded out to twelve feet on either side, flapping open. Harry had just enough time to get a good grip around Buckbeak's neck before he was soaring upwards. Harry didn't particularly care for flying a hippogriff, he immediately realized. He much preferred being able to fly as a Storm Phoenix, but Harry relaxed into it and let himself enjoy the flight.

Buckbeak flew Harry once around the large paddock and then headed back down to the ground, landing heavily. Harry had leaned back in preparation, and was glad for it; the landing jolted him forwards a bit. He smiled and dismounted, stroking Buckbeak's head. "Thanks for the ride, Buckbeak."

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid over the cheering of the class. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Harry's success had planted quite a bit of courage in everyone, and they climbed into the paddock. Soon enough, people were bowing nervously all over the paddock to the various hippogriffs. Harry watched and listened as Draco took his turn with Buckbeak. "You're not dangerous at all, are you?" Draco asked softly. "Those talons of yours… you could tear me to pieces easily, yet you choose not to. Why do you have power if you don't use it?"

Buckbeak looked at Draco with his orange eyes kindly. It was almost as if it was saying "power isn't everything." Draco gave the beast a genuine smile. "It must be so simple with you. You don't have to deal with politics or manipulative fathers. You're free to fly away from your cage at any time."

Then it was time to switch off, and it was Pansy Parkinson's turn at it. Buckbeak bowed back to her. "Heh, this is pretty easy. I knew it must've been," Pansy said as she approached and patted Buckbeak's beak. "I mean, if you let Potter fly you, you must be pretty stupid."

Harry's eyes widened, hearing the insult and sensing Buckbeak's sudden rage. His wand was in his hand in an instant. "_Immobulus!_ _Accio Pansy!_"

The Immobilization Jinx hit Buckbeak, who froze in mid-lunge for a few seconds, which was all the time Harry's second spell needed to summon Pansy to his side. Harry leapt over the fence and approached the enraged Buckbeak. "Calm down, boy, calm down, she's an idiot," he said in soothing tones.

Buckbeak's eyes were glaring fiercely at Pansy's pale form on the other side of the fence, as if saying "She insulted me! She must be punished!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be punished by Hagrid," Harry soothed, bowing for the enraged hippogriff. "Just relax, it'll all be taken care of."

Buckbeak glared for another second or two at Pansy, but bowed to Harry, allowing him to approach again. Harry stroked Buckbeak's head again and sent a glare of his own at Pansy.

"Twenty points from Slytherin fer not listenin' to my warnings," Hagrid said, having seen the whole ordeal. "And thirty points to Slytherin fer savin' a student from harm and calmin' a hippogriff."

Harry smiled, and Pansy scowled, looking at the disapproving form of Draco. _Draco's gone soft, _Pansy thought in disgust. _Ever since that Chamber of Secrets stuff happened, he's been becoming more like a, a, Hufflepuff! Meeker, less ruthless! He's even starting to follow Potter's lead! I can't believe I'm going into an arranged marriage with such a man!_

Hagrid beamed at the end of class. No one had suffered any accidents, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. In fact, most of them had smiles on their faces, even the Slytherins, something that almost brought a tear to the half-giant's eye. He never thought he'd see the day where he would be able to teach about Magical Creatures and show them the beauty and power he saw in them.

Hagrid took a deep breath and nodded. "Well then, no homework fer today. See yeh next class!"

The class left and immediately regrouped into their Houses, chatting animatedly with their friends. They had truly enjoyed it, and when Harry looked behind him, he saw Hagrid silently crying tears of joy, mingling with his bushy beard.

Harry turned away, back to the castle, feeling immensely happy for his big friend. Hagrid had found his true calling in life, a place where his status as a half-giant didn't hurt, where it actually helped. Harry, on the other hand, didn't feel like he had the luxury of finding what made him happiest, as he instead had to focus on training and finding out Voldemort's secret to immortality to eliminate him… for good this time.

_Neither can live while the other survives. _Harry clenched his fists, his determination renewed. _I'll take him down if it's the last thing I do! _

After another frustrating morning of practicing the Patronus Charm, Harry was quite glad that Defense was the first lesson of the day. Harry walked confidently down to the Defense classroom, noticing but not thinking anything of the fact that all of the Gryffindors, along with Harry's friends, were behind him. What he didn't realize was that he had proven himself to be just as much a Gryffindor as Ron, and he walked with an aura of leadership, causing everyone to subconsciously follow his lead.

Harry's group arrived from one side of the classroom, while the other Slytherins approached from the other. As it was, Peeves was busy sticking some chewed gum – Harry didn't want to know where he'd gotten it – into a keyhole, trying to jam the lock.

Harry sighed. "Peeves," he said warningly.

Peeves froze in midair and then turned to see Harry. "Oh, it's Potty Wee Potter!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Get out of here, Peeves, Professor Lupin's going to need that door." Peeves cackled and ignored Harry. Bad idea. "I warned you, Peeves. _Espiritu expello!" _A ghostly-white spell shot out of Harry's wand and hit Peeves straight in his ghostly chest, knocking him back several feet, and Peeves clutched his chest with a look reminiscent to pain.

"Bah, you're no fun!" Peeves, though, looked pretty cheeky at the boy who'd found a spell to challenge a ghost. With a raspberry, Peeves then launched himself through the floor, leaving the gum in the lock.

The students were looking at Harry in shock. "What was that spell?" Daphne demanded.

"_Espiritu expello._ Medium-power spell. Ghostly version of a Bludgeoning Charm," Harry recited. "One of the few spells known to affect ghosts or other spirits. Extremely dangerous to cast on a living being, as there's a possibility the victim's spirit will be forcefully expelled from their body, forcibly creating another ghost."

"Where'd you find it?" Ron asked curiously.

Harry smirked at him. "Library." Everyone but the bookworms groaned.

"Now, there's nothing wrong with the library," a new voice said, approaching. Everyone turned as they saw Professor Lupin striding over. "It's a very valuable resource. What was Peeves doing here?"

"Sticking gum in the lock," Parvati reported.

Lupin smiled. "Watch closely. This is a very useful spell. _Waddiwasi!_"

The gum shot out of the lock like a gunshot, landing on the wall opposite the door. Everyone grinned appreciatively. "Wicked," Ron said.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

_Waddiwasi, eh? Interesting, I'm going to have to experiment with that one, _Harry thought to himself, contemplating the idea of using it to propel a weapon at high speeds. _Could be useful. _

Lupin led everyone into the classroom, where a large locked cabinet was in the center of the room. "Now, class, today I'll be showing you a boggart. Who can tell me what they are?"

A few hands went up, but none as fast as Hermione's. "They're shapeshifters. They'll change into whatever you fear the most."

"Excellent, I couldn't have put it better myself!" Lupin praised. "Now, we have a bit of an advantage right now over the boggart. Mr. Potter, why don't you tell us?"

This was easy; Harry's SeeD training had taught him to very quickly analyze data. "Since there's more than one of us, the boggart will read the worst fears of everyone and won't know what to change into."

"Perfect! For instance, if one person fears oversized slugs and another fears a headless corpse, the boggart might turn into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. I've actually seen that a boggart make that very mistake once."

"So, how do we fight them off?" Ron asked.

"Well, laughter is the boggart's only weakness. However, it's pretty hard to find your worst fear funny. So, there's a simple spell to fight the boggart. The incantation is _Ridiculus._ Let's say it together, without the wands. One, two, three."

"_Ridiculus_."

"Excellent. Now, Mr. Longbottom, if you would join me up here?" Neville stepped forward with a nervous look on his face. "So, Mr. Longbottom, I'm going to use you as a demonstration. What will your boggart turn into?"

Neville thought for a few seconds. "I'm not sure," he finally whispered.

"A perfectly reasonable response," Lupin reassured him. "Very few actually know their worst fear without a boggart to test. In that case, here's what I want you to do. No matter what you see, try to find a way to make it funny. Then, imagine it is so, and cast _Ridiculus._ You can do it." Neville swallowed nervously and nodded, standing in front of the cabinet. "You ready?" Neville nodded again. "Alright! _Alohomora!_"

The cabinet flew open, and to everyone's shock, Neville was facing… himself? The boggart-Neville was crying on the floor. "Why? What happened to my magic? Why couldn't I protect my family?" The real Neville was pasty white even as he raised his wand. "Why did they even let me live?" the boggart-Neville asked miserably.

Neville looked close to crying himself, but swallowed hard. "_R-r-r-r-ridiculus!_" he stuttered. The boggart-Neville was suddenly whacked by someone behind him.

"You silly boy, we're all fine! You just had a nightmare."

"Wha?"

The gobsmacked expression on boggart-Neville's face was enough to make the rest of the class giggle, and even Neville smiled. "Well done, Neville, that was certainly a tough fear to make amusing," Lupin said quietly. "Next!"

Harry was quiet as he thought about Neville's greatest fear. Harry himself had a similar fear of his own: being unable to protect his friends, and Harry's respect for the clumsy boy grew a bit at that.

Ron went then, and the boggart suddenly became a gigantic Acromantula. "_Ridiculus!_" he whispered, and then the spider's legs all wore roller skates, and fell to the ground with a thump amidst the laughing of the class. Seamus was afraid of banshees, but took away her voice. Dean's was a floating, one-eyed, rotting head; it started telling jokes. Parvati was afraid of snakes, but turned it into a rainbow. Lavender's fear was a gigantic rat, but she shrunk it and put it in a rat cage.

And so it went on, until everyone had taken a turn. Draco's hadn't even had time to form before he cast _Ridiculus_, turning it into a clown. Theo, to everyone's surprise, was afraid of a misty green cloud in the shape of a skull with a snake for a tongue. _The Dark Mark, _Harry recognized. _I wonder why? _Daphne's fear turned out to be a black cloud of blood-sucking insects. Blaise's boggart became Hermione telling him that she, Harry, Daphne and Theo had never been his friends, that they no longer needed him. Hermione immediately gave Blaise a reassuring hug after he changed his boggart to add "Just kidding!" to the end.

With that, Lupin seemed ready to put it away, but Harry wanted to know his worst fear and jumped out. The boggart slipped past his Occlumency with frightening ease, and changed. Harry's eyes bugged out, and his weren't the only ones. In front of Harry was a seventeen-year-old version of himself in SeeD uniform, with glowing red eyes and the lightning scar, wielding a gunblade dripping with blood. "Thy will is done, Sorceress," boggart-Harry said proudly to thin air. Suddenly, at the feet of boggart-Harry, were the bloody and broken bodies of all of his friends. On top, were the bodies of the twins he was godfather to: Peter and Carla Williams, the children less than a year old.

Harry's heart stopped. _No, no, no no no no no! _Harry didn't even realize that he had started speaking aloud as he collapsed to his knees, staring in horror at the corrupted form of himself, the obedient Knight of an evil Sorceress using his power to destroy instead of protect. "No, no, no, no, no no No NO NO NO NO NO!" Harry screamed as his magic manifested around him. Winds, turbulent as Harry's raw emotions, picked up around him as he began to glow a bright green. Harry thrust his wand forward as his magic lashed out. A white-hot bolt of lightning shot from Harry's wand and hit the boggart, making it explode into smoke.

"I'll never be like that," Harry whispered in the sudden silence. With that, he swept from the room, no one daring to stop him in his volatile mood.

"What's a Sorceress?" Draco asked quietly. Everyone turned to him. "The boggart said it, and it's related to Harry's worst fear. What is it?"

Hermione was startled by the question but shook it off and began her lecture. Even Lupin was listening. "There are titles for wizards and witches who have achieved levels of power. Muggles and Squibs have very little to no magical ability. We are Adepts, students training their magical abilities. After that is the standard Wizard or Witch, who have the power to pass NEWT exams.

Hermione took a deep breath. "That's where most wizards and witches stop. After that, however, are Magi, generally made up of Aurors and Hit-Wizards. Next are Sorcerers and Sorceresses, powerful beings whose power could level a small town unaided. The crème of the crop are Grand Sorcerers and Grand Sorceresses, like Headmaster Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort. We can only imagine how powerful they would truly be in a fight." The class – minus Lupin and Harry's friends – all shivered at the name of Voldemort.

Some of the more thoughtful students were wondering just who was the Sorceress Harry was afraid of, and… "Why the heck did he look like an adult?" Seamus asked what everyone was thinking.

Hermione sensed danger at that question, and opened her mouth to answer. "How in the blazes would I know?" she snapped, pretending to be upset that Harry hadn't shared with her that information. Everyone stared at her. "Why do people always look at me like that when I admit I don't know something?" Hermione demanded.

Everyone turned away at that, not wanting to get on the brainiac's bad side. "That was a very well-put explanation on the titles of power," Lupin said after a moment. "Twenty points to Gryffindor, and five points to everyone who faced the boggart." _Who was the Sorceress the boggart referred to? _

Dumbledore, much to the contrary of Harry's fears, had no problem with the boggart incident. He knew that sometimes, Memory Charms could be temporarily circumvented by a boggart's natural Legilimency if the fear was related to it. The magic of the Memory Charm would soon heal that hole, though, and then the boggart would focus on Harry's next worst fear, whatever that may be.

Remus had stopped by Dumbledore to ask about it, and Dumbledore told him that it was likely a part of one of his memories when he was missing. The age factor did throw Dumbledore a little, but he thought whoever this Sorceress was had slipped Harry an Aging Potion to do some of her jobs. _Must have been a Dark Sorceress, _Dumbledore mused.

Harry's magic manifestation also weighed on Dumbledore's mind, but he was not concerned. Magic had a tendency to overreact to certain stimuli, and could swell to an enormous degree by rage and fear, hence the reason why accidental magic existed. As long as Harry learned to deal with his boggart soon, he saw no reason to interfere any more than he had to.

Harry's mood didn't improve for two days; he was scared that Dumbledore would find out that the Memory Charm hadn't worked, and that the magic suppressor had been lifted. He was also very angry at himself for revealing how much magic he had at his disposal, and for being unable to handle a simple boggart.

_:It is not your fault. That is a very powerful fear, and it is not something easily turned into something funny.:_

_I know, _Harry growled mentally at Quetzalcoatl. _Doesn't make me feel any better. How did that damn boggart get past my shields? _

Quetzalcoatl didn't know. He hadn't been paying attention to the shields at the time, and as such didn't see the boggart's technique. Harry, though, had been thinking about it almost non-stop, and finally thought he had come to an answer. _It acted like a super-thin drill because it was after one piece of information that it knew existed. My Occlumency was more wide-band, focused primarily on my secrets._

Harry cheered up a bit now that he had this information. That meant he knew how to fight that boggart. All he had to do was strengthen his Occlumency shields around the part of his mind that held his worst fear. He immediately set out to find his friends to tell them of this development.

Thankfully, Harry managed to strengthen his Occlumency shields before his first Arithmancy class with Professor Vector. Having read ahead in all of his books, Harry was very prepared. He found the magical study of numbers fascinating. It turned out that all of the modern-day spells were created through the advanced use of Arithmancy calculations, but they were nowhere near that level yet.

Seven, Harry found, was the most powerful magical number, followed by forty and then by twelve. The reason? Seven was not only a prime number, it was also the wild card, so to speak. Powers of seven had no divisor aside from another power of seven. Harry had the feeling that the secret to Voldemort's immortality had something to do with this number. Voldemort wouldn't want anything but the strongest, or else someone else may be able to cancel out his immortality.

However, as the Arithmancy class ended, Harry's thoughts found themselves returning to the escaped rat Animagus. Who was it? How strong was he? And above all, why had he stayed as a rat for so many years? _If only I had a way to find him… _Harry suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead. _I can't believe I forgot! The Marauder's Map never lies! _After hastily sharing that revelation with his friends, the five of them rushed to Gryffindor Tower to see the Weasley Twins. _That rat is mine! _

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Heh! Harry's finally remembered the power of the Marauder's map. Pettigrew is going DOWN! So, tell me what you think.

Next time, on Worldly Prisoners: Harry enlists Fred and George onto the team, captures Pettigrew, and... what? He talks to his father? Find out Thursday!

Read and Review, please!


	3. Legacy of the Marauders

Sorry for the late update. I was over at my friend's house, and had no opportunity (nor inclination) to return home to update.

So, here we are. Where did we leave off? Oh yes, the Marauder's Map. Here we go!

Disclaimer: Wormtail and Sirius escape at the END of third year. Not at the beginning. Thus, this is not canon.

Chapter Three: Legacy of the Marauders

_I've got to stay away! At least for a while, _a rat in the castle was thinking. _Mrs. Norris will surely eat me if I stick around in the castle for too long. I know! I'll go to that buffoon's hut! That big dog there is harmless, and Hagrid wouldn't hurt a flea, let alone a rat. I just hope Sirius doesn't find my scent. _

So, Peter Pettigrew fled the temporary safety of the magical stones of Hogwarts and hitched a ride on a nearby student's robe to go outside. There, he hopped off and began the trek to Hagrid's house.

Hermione said the Gryffindor password after reassuring the Fat Lady that the Slytherins were there for good reason. Harry strode ahead of his friends, his emerald eyes blazing with determination. He very quickly spotted Fred and George in the suddenly-silent Common Room. "Oy! Gred! Forge! Get over here! It's important!"

Fred and George, who had been playing a game of chess, nodded and got up, seeing Harry's seriousness. "What's up, Harry?"

"We need the Marauder's Map," Harry said in a low voice. "_Now._"

Fred nodded and ran upstairs to get it. "What's going on, Harry?" George asked.

"Unregistered Animagus on the loose," Harry replied. "Rat form. You may know him better as Scabbers."

George's jaw dropped. "Y-Y-You're kidding, right?" he asked, stuttering for the first time in his life. The idea that an unregistered Animagus had been living in their household for the past several years was, quite simply, very disturbing.

Harry shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Care to help me catch him?"

George nodded just as Fred came down. "Fred, we're going to be finding a certain rat Animagus better known as Scabbers."

Fred had a similar to reaction to George, but recovered after a few seconds. "Fine by me. I solemnly swear we are up to no good," he whispered.

Harry looked around, seeing that they were the center of attention. "Let's go out into the halls," he suggested.

One minute and an _Engorgio _later, an enlarged Marauder's Map was surrounded by seven students. Harry suddenly groaned. "How are we supposed to search for Animagi? This map only shows a person's name!"

Suddenly, the map was erased and something new came up. _Mr. Padfoot wants to know who would search for Animagi in a school of underage wizards? _

Everyone blinked, then turned to Harry, who was just as confused. "I'm Harry Potter, son of Lily and James Potter."

_Mr. Prongs is rather shocked by the name and requests confirmation through a single drop of blood in the circle below. _

A circle appeared after a moment, and Harry shrugged. He transfigured his quill into a dagger and pricked thumb, placing a drop of blood onto the circle.

The blood disappeared into the parchment. After several moments, more writing appeared. _Mr. Moony reports that Mr. Prongs is temporarily out of service from shock. He adds that Mr. Padfoot is also unavailable due to uncontrollable laughter. _

"Why are you all speaking in third person?" Theo asked.

_Mr. Wormtail would like to reply that they can only reveal themselves to a true Marauder, or else their real world counterparts may get into trouble for certain illegal actions. _

"And how does one go about becoming a Marauder?" Harry asked.

_Mr. Moony states that only an Animagus with a penchant for pranks may become a Marauder. He adds that furthermore, only a Marauder can use all of the Map's functions. _

Harry grinned. "I love pranks!"

_Mr. Prongs requests Mr. Harry Potter to describe a few of his exploits. _

"Once, I put a spell on Mrs. Norris that made her smell of wet dog for weeks!" Harry smiled, reminiscing. "She was absolutely miserable!"

_Mr. Padfoot roars with laughter, stating that he'd always wanted to try that on the cat. _

"I also charmed a copy of _Hogwarts, A History _so that the next person who picked it up wouldn't be able to stop until they'd finished it, and then purposely gave it to one of the laziest students in my year," Harry added, chuckling.

_Mr. Moony thanks you for that deed, and also recognizes the powerful prank. _

"Then I bribed said student to put Itching Powder into some rival pranksters underwear with a time delay, so it kicked in right in the middle of their Transfiguration class with McGonagall," Harry continued.

_Mssrs. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail cannot speak at the moment, due to the fact that none of them can speak between their laughter. _After several moments, more appeared. _You have been acknowledged by the Marauders as a candidate for Marauder-ship. Now, you must become an Unregistered Animagus._

"All four of you guys are unregistered Animagi?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.

_Mr. Moony hesitates but admits that he is a werewolf, not an Animagus, although the other three Marauders are. _

"What are your forms?" Harry had the feeling that this question would be very important to him.

_Mr. Prongs proudly says he is a Stag Animagus. _

_Mr. Padfoot would like to boast of being a large Dog Animagus. _

_Mr. Wormtail admits to being a Rat Animagus. _

_Mr. Moony would like to ask if Mr. Harry Potter is an Animagus._

"I am an unregistered Storm Phoenix Animagus," Harry admitted, and Fred and George's jaws dropped.

_Mr. Moony is gobsmacked. _

_Mr. Prongs smirks at Mr. Moony, stating that he never had any doubts. _

_Mr. Padfoot glares sullenly at Mr. Prongs, having just lost a bet. _

_Mr. Wormtail is in awe of Mr. Harry Potter's form. _

_Mr. Moony has recovered and requests several minutes to determine the name of the new Marauder. _

"Of course."

_Mr. Padfoot warns Mr. Harry Potter that his friends, if they are not Animagi, cannot join the prestigious Marauders until they have achieved their form. As such, they are not privy to Mr. Harry Potter's Marauder name._

Harry looked at his friends apologetically. "Sorry guys."

Theo shrugged. "Do you have any more Animagus Potion?" Harry nodded. "Then we'll start tonight, right guys?"

"Right!" everyone answered, including Fred and George.

After almost ten minutes of anticipation, Mr. Moony's handwriting appeared again. _We have chosen your new name. _

Harry shrunk the map until he could hold it comfortably in front of him and then backed up against a wall so as to follow the rules. "I'm ready."

_Your new name, son of James and Lily Potter, is Bolt. _

"Since you know my real identity, can I ask yours?"

_I don't see why not. My name is Remus Lupin. _

_I am Peter Pettigrew._

_Sirius Black, at your service. _

There was a pause. _I'm James Potter, your father. _

Now it was Harry's turn to be gobsmacked. He turned to his friends, who were waiting patiently. "Um, can I have a few minutes?" Harry asked pleadingly. Hearing Harry's tone, Hermione nodded and herded Harry's friends back out of earshot. "Um, I suppose you haven't heard much by way of events lately?"

_Indeed not, _Remus's handwriting wrote. _What can you tell us? _

"Well, sorry James, but you and Lily are dead. You died saving me from Voldemort."

There was no handwriting for a moment. _He's in shock, _Sirius's script stated. _What about me? _

"You've been in Azkaban for the last twelve years for killing twelve Muggles and Peter with a single curse shortly after betraying my parents to Voldemort. You broke out about a few weeks ago, and people say you're trying to kill me," Harry said blandly.

_SAY WHAT? I would never betray Lily and James, let alone harm their kid! And Peter, you know I'd never kill you, right? _

_Yeah. _

Harry blinked. "I suppose I'm talking to the teenage versions of you from when you guys actually made the map?"

_Very astute, Bolt, _Remus's neat script portrayed. _And how have I fared?_

"Not too well," Harry admitted. "I somehow got transported to another world when I was five and you went crazy trying to find me. Giving up after five years of searching, you went to America to start a new life, but you recently came back to Hogwarts to teach Defense."

_I… I'm a teacher? _

_You'd make a good one, Moony, _James's handwriting – so similar to Harry's, he realized – said firmly.

_This doesn't make sense, _Peter's scratchy writing appeared. _How am I dead… if I know that my real self has been coming back to Hogwarts during the schooltimes for the past four years? _

"What?" Harry gasped. "How is that possible? I was told Sirius killed you!"

_Why don't you ask him? _Peter suggested. _He's out on the grounds right now in rat form, heading towards Hagrid's hut. _

"I plan on it!" Harry said firmly. "But now I need to see the map!"

_Coming right up! _James agreed, but his handwriting was more pronounced, as if he were angry and trying to keep from showing it.

Harry ran up to his friends. "You're not going to believe this, but Peter Pettigrew is alive!"

Fred and George sighed. "When it comes to you, Harry…"

"…we'll believe anything." The others nodded.

Hermione was already working out all the implications, as was Blaise. "Wait, that means that Sirius Black didn't kill him back then?"

"So it would seem," Blaise said imperturbably. "We should capture him now and find out the truth."

"Then what're we standing around here for?" Daphne asked pointedly.

Harry and his friends nodded, and they, as one, ran towards the grounds. Harry kept a firm eye on the dot labeled Peter Pettigrew and led the way. When he was getting close, he drew his wand from his holster. "_Accio rat!_"

Peter Pettigrew's only thought was _Oh shit_ before he was lifted off the ground and towards Harry, but he wasn't done. "_Animagus Reverto!_ _Stupefy!_"

Shocked at being discovered, by teenagers no less, Peter didn't stand a chance. He was turned back into a human and Stunned before he had a chance to do anything.

Harry turned to the Marauder's Map. "I need a safe place to perform an interrogation."

_The Shrieking Shack should work, _Remus's handwriting pointed out, highlighting the fastest path from Harry's dot to the Whomping Willow. _Just push the knot on the bottom of the trunk with a long stick or a spell, and go down the path. There should be nothing in the Shack right now. _

"Got it. _Mobilicorpus,_" Harry intoned, pointing at the stunned form of Peter Pettigrew. Peter began floating, stiff as a board, behind Harry as he led the others down the path to the Shrieking Shack. After using "_Flipendo_" on the knot, Harry watched as the Whomping Willow froze and then hurried through the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack.

The Shack had broken furniture everywhere, but it would do, in Harry's opinion. "_Finite,_" he muttered, canceling the _Mobilicorpus _spell. "_Incarcerous._" Peter was now wrapped in magical ropes. Harry turned to Hermione. "Do you know any way to keep Peter from transforming?"

Hermione shook her head. There was a ward to prevent transformation, but as of yet there was no Anti-Animagus Jinx. Only a ward, which was constantly powered, could maintain the magic of keeping an Animagus from transforming if he or she so wished.

Harry's eyes were suddenly drawn to the Marauder's Map, where Remus's handwriting was writing rapidly. _If I'm truly teaching this term, I'm certain that the real me would want to be there to find out why Peter faked his death. _

Harry nodded. "Theo, Daphne, go find Professors Lupin and Snape, and ask Snape to bring a bottle of Veritaserum," he ordered.

They saluted. "Yes, sir!" With that, they ran back through the tunnel.

Harry turned to Fred and George. "Now that you've seen or heard a few of my secrets, I'm afraid you're going to have to be Obliviated. No offense, but I really can't let Dumbledore find out about me."

"Wait a minute!" Hermione butted in, "Harry, studies have shown that identical twins have a natural Occlumency talent! They've learned Occlumency in less than a day before!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the twins. "That means you've got a choice. Memory Charm or Occlumency?"

"What's Occlumency?" Fred asked

"Shielding the mind from Legilimency, which is in essence looking into the mind," Harry summarized. "Dumbledore and Snape both know how to do it and do so frequently."

Fred and George looked at each other. "Occlumency."

"I thought you'd say that, here's how you begin…"

Half an hour later, Harry was astonished at the twins' progress. It seemed they already had some somewhat powerful natural Occlumency due to their twin bond. All they needed was to consciously better those shields. When Harry could no longer read their emotions, he nodded. "Alright, I won't be Obliviating you, but keep on working on your Occlumency."

Minutes later, Daphne and Theo returned with the two Professors in tow. Lupin did a double-take when he saw the bound form of Pettigrew. "Peter?" he whispered.

Harry nodded, pulling out the Marauder's Map. "The map never lies."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Map?"

Harry suddenly realized his mistake. "Er… I'd rather not talk about it, sir."

Surprisingly, Snape didn't push it. "Very well, Mr. Potter. I assume this is why you needed Veritaserum?" Harry nodded. "You do realize that this is a Ministry-controlled substance and both you and I could be arrested for administering it?"

Harry smirked. "Why would we be arrested for administering Veritaserum to a man that the Ministry believes dead?"

Snape smirked back at Harry. "How clever. Ten points to you." He passed a vial containing a mostly clear substance. "Three drops will suffice."

Harry acknowledged Snape's information with a slight nod and moved to the bound form of Peter. Opening the rat Animagus's mouth, Harry poured in exactly three drops of the clear potion and rubbed the man's neck to make him swallow. Then he backed off and pointed his wand. "_Enervate._"

Peter's eyes opened, but they were slightly glazed, a sign that the Veritaserum was active. "What is your full name?" Harry asked

"Peter Percival Pettigrew," Peter answered monotonously. Harry glanced at Remus, who nodded.

"Were you friends with my father, James Potter?"

"Yes."

Harry had a suspicion. _If Peter is alive, and Sirius is innocent of that, who was really the Secret Keeper? _"Who was the Secret Keeper for the Potters?"

"I was."

That information brought a shock to everyone present. Harry voiced what everyone was thinking. "So Sirius Black did not betray my family?"

"No. That was me."

"Describe in detail the events of significance between the day my parents died and Sirius's incarceration in Azkaban."

"I had felt my Dark Mark burn the day after Halloween, and I could feel that You-Know-Who had been greatly weakened. I went to Godric's Hollow and found my master's wand, pocketing it. Knowing that Sirius Black would eventually track me down for my treachery, no matter where I went, I realized I had to fake my own death. So, when Sirius found me, I shot a powerful curse behind me, killing twelve Muggles. Then I cut off one of my fingers as Sirius shot a Stunner at me, and transformed into my rat form, escaping into the sewers. Sirius began laughing, having seen my escape and knowing that he would be blamed despite being innocent, and I suspect he was quite insane by the time he was put into Azkaban."

"Didn't he have a trial?" Hermione asked in horror.

"No. The Ministry is quite corrupt, someone paid off the Minister to send him to Azkaban without a trial."

"Where did you go after you faked your death?" Harry asked coldly, using Occlumency to keep his anger from overwhelming him.

"I found a redheaded boy one day, and he took me in as a pet, named me Scabbers. I later found out that he was a Weasley, and realized that this was the perfect position to see if the Dark Lord ever came back," Peter continued in that same emotionless voice.

Remus Lupin could take it no longer. "Why did you join Voldemort, Peter?"

"I was jealous of James Potter's power, Sirius Black's popularity, and Remus Lupin's intelligence. Their three forms were all strong, where mine was weak. I felt inferior, always in the shadows. The Dark Lord promised me power, enough to rise above all of them."

Remus's fist clenched, and Harry took hold of one of his arms, stopping him. "Let's get him to the Ministry. His testimony will set Sirius free."

Snape mentally cursed his Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore, but he was forced to say it. "We need to see Dumbledore first, so he can call off the dementors." Dumbledore had specifically ordered him to take Peter Pettigrew to him should he be discovered. Dumbledore, Snape suspected, would then arrange for an accident so Peter could never tell the truth about the situation.

Little did Snape know, Dumbledore had placed several charms on the rat Animagus, one of them being a ward to let him know when Peter had transformed to or from his rat form. He had also added a tracking charm, so he knew exactly where Peter was the whole time.

_So, he's been discovered less than a week into the school year? _Dumbledore mused. _Better have the dementors suck out Peter's soul. Although it would be better if they could locate Sirius Black and get rid of that thorn in my side forever, getting rid of Peter will ensure Sirius's status as criminal. The only one among them who can perform a Patronus is Remus, but he is not strong enough magically to send away over a hundred dementors at once, _Dumbledore thought with a smirk as he cast his own Patronus (a falcon) and told it to herd the dementors to the Shrieking Shack.

Meanwhile, Harry was looking at Snape peculiarly, but he quickly understood. He was about to Stun the Potions Professor when suddenly, a large black dog pounced on Snape from out of nowhere, knocking him to the ground. Transforming back into human form, a very dirty Sirius Black took up Snape's wand and quickly said, "_Stupefy!_" Snape was promptly knocked out. "You have the traitor?" he asked incredulously. "Great! Come on everyone, we don't have any time to lose! The dementors are all closing in on us, and we have to get out of here!"

"Sirius?" Remus asked.

"In the flesh," Sirius replied. "Leave the traitor, he deserves whatever he gets."

Harry shook his head. "With him, we can set you free!"

Sirius blinked and then whacked himself on the forehead. "Yeah, you're right. Why didn't I think of that?"

"You were too blinded by anger," Blaise said sagely. "But we must discuss this later; we must go!"

Sirius nodded. "_Mobilicorpus._" He started levitating Snape, while Lupin took care of Pettigrew. As they left, Sirius did a double take at everyone. "Er, I just realized I don't know who all of you are. I just know that no one deserves the dementor's kiss."

"Blaise Zabini."

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Theodore Nott."

"Hermione Granger."

"Fred Weasley."

"George Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

"Harry?" Sirius whispered, looking at him. "I can't believe it… never thought we'd actually get to meet, between Azkaban and the guards…"

"Less talk, more run! The dementors are coming!" Harry reminded Sirius.

Sirius shook himself, clearing his head. "Right. Thanks for the reminder, the dementors are still affecting my head." With that, the group began running towards the castle, towards safety.

Unfortunately for them, the dementors had been gathered in their direction thanks to Dumbledore's Patronus, and they sensed several people, in addition to the convict they were looking for. And one of them held the powers of thousands. They couldn't resist, and began swooping in to feast.

Over a hundred of them had arrived, their combined powers were beginning to take their effect. Sirius was reduced to sobbing incoherently, his mind already weak from prolonged exposure to dementors, while Remus was trying desperately to get off a Patronus. "_Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum! _Come on, _Expecto Patronum!_" He wasn't able to summon many happy memories, because the instant he thought of one, the dementors repressed it.

Harry and his friends, however, had built up their Occlumency enough to fight it. Not for long, perhaps, but enough to make a difference. They looked at each other, while Fred and George were pale with their eyes unfocused.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" Harry and his friends roared, creating a large gaseous shield around them. However, the many dementors quickly took care of it.

Harry closed his eyes and focused hard. But instead of a happy memory, he found a memory of hope. He recalled that first day on Terra, when he found that he would be able to go to school and learn how to protect himself and others. And, fully immersing himself in that, remembering that hope fondly, Harry gathered his magic.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" Harry bellowed. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, as instead of gas, two figures escaped from Harry's wand. One was a large stag, and the other was a very familiar figure. Harry realized just who and what they were. "Prongs! Quetz! Go!"

_:With pleasure.: _Patronus Quetzalcoatl rose into the air and began gathering energy Normally, that would be electricity, but in this form, it was holy elemental magic. Prongs, in the meanwhile, galloped around Harry and his friends, keeping them safe while Quetz prepared his attack.

Harry's friends, in addition to Remus and Sirius, suddenly found themselves away from the dementor's power, and looked up to see two Patroni: a stag, and a very large bird-like creature. "Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Not mine. You?"

"Mine's a wolf," Remus muttered.

Harry had a hunch and gave Quetz one of his Holy spells. It paid off when Quetz cried _:Holy Thunder!: _Bolts of white light shot out from Quetzalcoatl's mouth, striking dozens of dementors and making them screech horribly in pain. They began retreating, knowing that this foe was too powerful for them.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, looking incredibly smug. With a "come here" gesture, he ordered his Patroni to his side. Then he turned around to face his dumbfounded friends. "Guys, meet Prongs and Quetzalcoatl."

"Quetzalcoatl? You have a Mayan god for a Patronus?" Remus asked faintly.

Sirius, however, was focused entirely on the stag. "Prongs," he whispered. He extended a trembling hand out to touch him, but just as he was about to, the Patroni faded.

Harry looked at Remus peculiarly. "Um, Remus? Where's Pettigrew?"

Remus's eyes widened as he looked around frantically. "Oh damn it, he must have transformed after the Veritaserum wore off!"

Sirius looked particularly saddened. "Looks like I'm on the run again."

Harry grabbed his shoulder in a comforting manner. "Don't worry Sirius; I'll get you a trial in no time."

Sirius looked a little happier. "I don't suppose anyone told you that I'm your godfather, right?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

"Well, once I get my trial, how about you stay with me? We could try living together for a while, and if you don't like it, you could go back to your relatives if you like," Sirius proposed.

Harry's face broadened into a grin. "I'd love to! I hate having to live with those Dursleys!"

Sirius gave Harry a matching grin. "Well then, I guess I better get going before the Ministry comes to investigate what happened. Keep in touch."

Harry nodded, and Sirius transformed into his dog form, padding off to Hogsmeade, presumably to Apparate. Remus cleared his throat and began levitating Snape before Harry drew his wand. "_Enervate._"

Snape woke up instantly, his eyes flashing wildly around him. He sighed. "So, is it safe to assume that Pettigrew is missing?" Remus nodded. "And Sirius Black has escaped?" Another nod. "I see. Let us return to the castle, then."

Everyone nodded and began walking. "So, Mr. Potter," Snape began blandly, "would you care to explain how you located and captured a legally dead Death Eater?"

"Found him on the Marauder's Map," Harry told him with a shrug. "He was in rat form on the grounds. I summoned him to me, turned him back into a human using _Animagus Reverto_, and Stunned him."

One of Snape's eyes ticked at the name of Marauder. "Marauder's Map, you say…" Snape looked at Lupin accusingly.

"I didn't give it to him!" Lupin protested.

"That would be us," Fred and George said together.

"And speaking of you two, how did you end up joining Mr. Potter's merry men?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"We had a business arrangement concerning the map," Fred said seriously.

"Harry could use it occasionally…"

"… and he wanted to use it to locate an unregistered rat Animagus he'd found out and was nervous about earlier."

"Dunno how he does it…"

"… I'd really like to learn…"

"… but that's not important."

"He found Peter Pettigrew's name on the map…"

"… and rushed down here to capture him, realizing that …"

"…Sirius Black was imprisoned unjustly…"

"…without cause…"

"… without trial…"

"Anyway, it turned out that Peter Pettigrew was posing as our brother's pet rat," George stated.

"So we felt it a matter of honor to help out," Fred finished.

"Do either of you ever speak without the other?" Snape asked caustically, though Harry could tell that was because he was impressed by the coordination that required.

They glanced at each other. "Only during class…"

"… and sometimes not even then!"

"Hmph," Snape grunted and fell silent.

"So, Harry, do you know why you have two Patroni?" Remus asked casually. Snape tripped over a tree root in shock, stumbling and whirling to face Harry.

"Two Patroni?" Snape demanded.

"Yeah, I've got two." Harry shook his head at Remus. "I don't know how I've got two," he lied, "I just do."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked. "You had names for both of them. Prongs and Quetzalcoatl if I'm not mistaken. Prongs for the stag, I can understand. It looked exactly like your father's Animagus form. But what about the second one?"

"Well," Harry began, thinking very quickly. "I've always been interested in mythology, especially after I learned I was a wizard. I found a book on mythology and one of the pictures had a flying feathered serpent thing that looked a bit like my second Patronus. It was called Quetzalcoatl, so that's why I named my second Patronus that."

_:Good save.:_

_Thank you. _

Remus was thinking something else. _Quetzalcoatl signifies a snake with long green, precious feathers. How fitting; Harry is a Slytherin – hence the snake – with emerald green eyes – hence the green precious feathers. It's almost as fitting as my name was for a werewolf! _

Snape, however, just had to connect the dots that Harry had left out before. "Is it related to that spell you described last year? Ultima?" he asked perceptively.

Harry piercingly glared at Snape, who realized belatedly that he had just revealed compromising information to Remus. But Snape's pride refused to let him back down, and he released his patented Snape glare back at Harry. Seeing this, Harry upped the power behind his gaze, and Snape responded in kind, glaring with an intensity that had sent third year Hufflepuffs into hysterical fits running from him.

The tension could have been cut with a knife. Neither Snape nor Harry knew that they were subconsciously releasing magic, and the others in their presence were having hard time breathing as the air grew more and more laden with hostile magic. Neither was blinking, but finally Remus cleared his throat. As one, Snape and Harry turned away.

Harry faced Remus, his face unnaturally serious. "You will not mention any word of this to Dumbledore."

"Why not?" Remus asked, genuinely curious and now a little worried. _Is it something Slytherin-related? _

"It has to do with my disappearance from Privet Drive when I was five," Harry stated grimly. Seeing Remus's jaw drop, Harry continued, "Let me guess. Dumbledore mentioned something along the lines of me not remembering what happened between my disappearance and my Hogwarts letter."

"Something like that," Remus agreed weakly.

"He'd like it to be that way," Harry sneered. "But thankfully, I'm a bit more cunning than that. I remember everything."

Remus's knees felt very weak at this moment, and he reached out with a shaky hand to a nearby boulder, sitting down heavily. "What do you mean Dumbledore wants you not to remember your past?"

"Because it interferes with my development here in Hogwarts," Harry said simply. "Dumbledore wanted me to be a malleable tool to be used against Voldemort. I suspect he'd probably toss me away when Voldemort's finally dead. But since I've lived in a place he can't reach, that puts a wrench in his plans that he cannot tolerate."

"Dumbledore's not like that!" Remus yelled, getting up angrily.

"Oh really?" Harry asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. He spread his arms wide. "Use Legilimency."

"What? No! You're a minor!" Remus protested.

"Oh? Are you afraid of what you'll see? Afraid that maybe I'm right?" Harry goaded. "Come on, _I dare you._"

Snape had a proud smirk on his face; one of his Slytherins was masterfully manipulating an adult more than twice his age to do what would, ironically, break his belief in the Headmaster. _And this is why he has the qualities of all houses. Brave in the face of danger, loyal to his friends, intelligent in classes, and a cunning that will take down anyone foolish enough to oppose him. _

Remus still seemed reluctant, but raised his wand. "_Legilimens,_" he whispered. Harry quickly pushed the memories that Remus needed to see to the front of his mind, outside of his Occlumency shields. In the span of seconds, Remus saw exactly what he was hoping not to see: Dumbledore's conversation with Harry the previous year.

Remus lowered his wand and staggered back to the boulder, sitting down hard. "Do you doubt me now?" Harry asked calmly.

Remus shook his head. "No, it's just… hard to take in. We've trusted Dumbledore for so long, it's hard to believe he's anything but a well-meaning commander from the last war."

"That's exactly it," Harry said gently. "He's a commander, a general. That means he's willing to sacrifice for what he sees as the greater good. It just so happens that I'm his sacrifice." His face hardened. "But I refuse to just be a pawn in someone else's chess game. Voldemort is currently bodiless, and Dumbledore knows the secret to his immortality. Why doesn't Dumbledore take care of it now? What's his game? I don't know, and that's why I keep up the act of being under Dumbledore's influence. Even if I were to expose him to the Ministry, he'd buy his way out with his fame and political power."

"What do you want me to do, Harry?" Remus asked. _Odd. The wolf is actually… submitting to Harry? Incredible! _

"Build up your Occlumency," Harry ordered sternly. "Now. Dumbledore'll use Legilimency on you as soon as he sees you next. Don't look into his eyes until you're confident that you can keep him out. Practice creating false memories; that's Dumbledore's weakness. He's arrogant. As soon as he sees memories, he assumes he's broken through someone's shields."

Remus nodded. "That makes sense. Is there anything else? I don't have much experience in deception…"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing on the subject of deceiving Dumbledore aside from not sharing this knowledge with anyone. Now the way I hear it, you were the studious one of my father's friends. I need your help."

"What?" Remus asked, stunned. Harry's confident tone and stance, in addition to his odor, all seemed to point towards an independent, charismatic leader. _It's almost as though he's older than thirteen…_ "What kind of help do you need?" Remus amended.

Harry sighed. "As students, and under Dumbledore's watch no less, my friends and I have very limited access to anything even remotely approaching Dark Magic, which is almost undoubtedly where Voldemort's immortality lies. As a teacher, and a researcher no less, you have no such restrictions. Additionally, your werewolf status gives you darker connections, which may prove useful. I need you to find Voldemort's secret through any means necessary."

Harry turned to Snape. "I would like you to aid him, but I recognize you may be restricted by your Vow to Dumbledore. Can you tell me the secret to Voldemort's immortality?"

Snape shook his head. "I never learned how the Dark Lord planned on ensuring it, merely that that was his goal."

"Um, Harry?" Theo asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"It's a little creepy to see a thirteen-year-old ordering two adults around. And you two, why are you listening?"

Snape and Lupin glanced at each other. "I listen to him because he is my only hope of ever being free," Snape said bitterly. "Besides, he has more information than anyone else, and has proven himself more than capable in the art of deception. Additionally, I owe him a life debt that I look to repay. What about you, wolf? Why are you listening to Mr. Potter?"

"I've seen his memories," Remus said slowly, "and Harry has shown a maturity and magical prowess well beyond his age. My werewolf side is bowing before his power, and also, strangely, Theodore's. Additionally, the piece of the prophecy that Harry has shared seems to dictate that he is our leader."

"Prophecy?" everyone but Snape and Harry echoed.

Harry shrugged. "I only know part of it. _One must die by the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives._" Harry frowned. "And there was something about being marked as an equal."

"I believe I may have more information on that," Snape said with a smirk. _Now that I know Harry knows part of the prophecy, I can tell him what I know of it. _"I overheard part of it when it was originally made. _The one who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him… born as the seventh month dies._"

"Hmm." Harry contemplated this new information. "Unfortunately, it doesn't tell me anything I don't already know. I'm the one the prophecy speaks of, and the Dark Lord is almost certainly Voldemort. At least now I know why Voldemort attacked my parents. Voldemort must've heard all or part of the prophecy."

He took a deep breath. "We should head back to the castle before the dementors attack again. We also cannot afford to attract Dumbledore's attention. I will tell you the rest at a later date." With that, Harry's friends – newly joined by Fred and George – and teachers followed him to the castle.

And then there were nine.

Everyone came up to Dumbledore's office and described what they had seen, carefully omitting any mention of Harry's second Patronus. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, Remus and Harry had combined efforts to drive away the dementors. Of course, Dumbledore appeared saddened that Sirius Black had been imprisoned in Azkaban unfairly, and promised to look into arranging a new trial for him.

Harry, with his revelation in forming Patroni, helped his friends achieve their corporeal Patroni, though it took them another week of practice. After that, they focused hard on their studies – both curricular and extracurricular – and started their weapons practice as well. Harry's friends all took the Animagus potion, though Harry made sure he had extra as he wasn't certain when his friends would find their animals.

Remus and Snape had been busy as well, however. Remus had sent letters to a couple of colleagues he had had in America, asking them to look into possible paths to immortality. Snape was doing a bit of researching of his own, contacting former Death Eaters – Lucius Malfoy, Nott Sr., MacNair and several others – and asking them for any information they had as to the Dark Lord's immortality, claiming to be researching a way to bring him back.

This yielded one very important piece of information in early October. "Lucius Malfoy suddenly remembered something a few nights ago and owled me," Snape told the others in Harry's training room – the meeting place they agreed upon shortly after the talk with Dumbledore – after classes. "He mentioned that the Dark Lord was very protective of the enchanted diary he left in Lucius's care. I believe Lucius's exact words were 'He threatened me with insanity through Cruciatus and the death of my pregnant wife if the diary fell to harm.'"

"Makes sense," Harry said aloud. He was in his seventeen-year-old form, as he privately agreed that being in a thirteen-year-old body while being in charge just didn't feel right. "Voldemort's diary was pretty powerful, able to possess Ginny and try and bring itself to life through the art of draining the life out of someone else."

Remus's eyes widened. "That… is not normal, even in the magical world," he said, his voice strained. "For a diary to have the power of possession and be able to resurrect its consciousness, not a mind-altering curse… it had to not only have consciousness, an imprint of Voldemort if you will, but a soul."

"Why's that? Don't the victims of the dementor's kiss live for a while despite their soul?" Hermione asked, confused.

Remus nodded, pleased at the question. "They do, but without a soul, the body has no magic. Magic is a mix of spiritual and physical energies."

"What about enchanting objects, like _The Monster Book of Monsters? _That one's been animated, and it has no soul!" Theo pointed out.

"That is because it has been animated by another wizard or witch," Remus countered. "You were to learn about this in NEWT Transfiguration. Animation is an advanced Transfiguration skill, but it is impossible to magically animate a human being to the point of being fully alive and conscious. _The Monster Book of Monsters_, as you have noticed, has been animated with a few instructions: to bite, to scuttle, to rip, to growl. But it cannot think for itself. The same goes for enchantments. They cannot think for themselves. The diary not only thought, but plotted and attempted to resurrect the spirit within."

"But for Voldemort to still live, he must have had to split his soul in two," Harry realized with growing horror. "Oh my God…"

"The soul pieces are called Horcruxes," Remus continued, horror evident in his voice. "I came across the theory in America, where researchers are working to modify the idea so they can keep patients alive even while on the verge of death so they can heal."

"How are they made?" Daphne asked quietly.

"After a ritual to prepare the soul's container, the user must then murder someone in cold blood," Remus whispered. "The act of doing so literally tears a soul in half, and another ritual removes the soul from the user and implants it into the container."

"Oh my God indeed," Snape agreed grimly. "We have no idea how many times he may have split his soul."

"Seven pieces," Harry said, a memory slamming into focus. "It has to be. One of the most important things to know in Arithmancy: seven is the most powerful number. It's the number most likely to have guaranteed him immortality. Which means he divided his soul six times."

"I concur," Blaise agreed.

"But wait," Fred began.

"What can be used as Horcruxes?" George asked.

Remus shrugged. "Anything, according to theory. But I have a feeling that Voldemort wouldn't hide a piece of his soul in an old tin can."

"No," Snape agreed. "He always had a bit of flair, to put on a show. He would use very important items to him."

"Which explains the diary," Harry concluded. "Which means we've so far killed one out of seven pieces."

"Don't you mean two?" Remus asked. "What about the body you killed when you were one?"

Harry shook his head. "His spirit's still out there. We can't discount it until it's destroyed as well. Any ideas as to the other Horcruxes?" Everyone shook their heads. "Alright, in that case, we should move on. How is everyone coming on the Animagus forms?"

Fred and George suddenly grinned. "We're identical weasels," they said together.

"Playful, loyal and devious, while still playing on your last name," Daphne noted. "Perfect for you two." She had, a week past, found out her Animagus as an osprey. This was two days after Theo discovered his inner border collie.

Hermione had only recently begun to feel that inner pull instead of trying to analyze what kind of animal she would be. Blaise's animal was a wolf, having been the first of Harry's friends to find his. He was working on transforming his legs to and from wolf form currently.

Hermione was suddenly very frustrated. She hated being last at anything. What made it worse was that she knew that she had been holding herself back with her self-analysis. Harry, though, had predicted this reaction.

"Hey, Hermione, remember that very few people actually become Animagi to begin with! You're going to be a step above the rest once you do find your animal," Harry reassured her. "Be patient. You'll get there."

Hermione sighed and calmed down. "Yeah, you're right," she said with a wistful note. "I just don't like being the last at anything."

Harry shrugged. "It happens to the best of us. No one can be perfect at everything. I mean, look at me! I'm pretty good at Potions and Defense, but have you seen my History scores? You and I are the only ones who can stay awake in that class and I _still _need to borrow your notes!"

Hermione seemed mollified with that comment, and Remus smiled. _Harry's a natural leader, able to unite so many different personalities. _Snape noted the same thing with a hint of jealousy. _Harry's so like me, but the opposite as well. Where I was angry and solitary, Harry is calm and unifying. Lucky bastard. I just hope he appreciates his friends; having so many loyal to him this early in life is a gift few can match. _

It was only at the end of the meeting that Snape suddenly remembered something. "… so if there is nothing else, it would be best if we retired for the night," Harry was saying.

"Actually, there is something I just recalled," Snape said smoothly. "In regards to the Horcrux situation, I see a possibility that merits looking into."

"And that is?" Harry asked with raised brow.

"The Dark Lord is extremely proud of his Slytherin heritage, being the Heir of Slytherin," Snape explained. "Would it not be fitting for his heritage to hold the key to his immortality? Relics of Slytherin holding the Heir of Slytherin's soul?"

"Brilliant!" Theo stated.

"That does seem likely," Blaise agreed. "Harry?"

Harry nodded decisively. "We now have something to work towards. Professor Lupin, please send a letter to the researchers you mentioned and ask for a spell to identify or confirm a Horcrux. Professor Snape, please use your connections to look for any news of Slytherin's artifacts, especially if they've gone missing in the last fifty years. Hermione, you and I are going to research the Founders in the library. Fred, George, Theo, Blaise, Daphne, you all are to talk to your parents about the Founders. See if there was an item associated with each of them, maybe a weapon or piece of jewelry. Join us once you've gotten all you can out of your parents. Is there anything else? No? Good. Get some rest, everyone, there isn't any crisis above our heads, so we can afford to take our time and do this right."

The next week's worth of research was for naught. The second week, however, yielded some progress, with Remus's acquisition of a spell to confirm Horcruxes. The parents of the purebloods also provided some information, though it wasn't truly helpful. Gryffindor was known for his sword, Hufflepuff for her healing goblet and Ravenclaw for her Pensieve, but Slytherin, it seemed, did not have anything attributed to him.

Snape, however, was not making any progress at all. The Artifacts of the other Founders were well known, but Slytherin, as the outcast, was purposefully forgotten. It was very frustrating for the sour Head of Slytherin, and he began taking his frustration out on unsuspecting students in the halls, who very quickly learned to avoid the dungeons if at all possible.

Through it all, Harry made sure to balance the workload with time to relax, including Quidditch practice. Flint had failed his NEWTs and had returned to retake his seventh year, remaining the Quidditch Captain. Harry hoped that this year Flint would actually graduate.

Harry spent some time associating with students from all the houses, and was slowly becoming known for being a fair Slytherin. Although he didn't know it, he had earned the respect of most of the people from the other houses for rising above the discrimination and showing what he was truly made of. Harry and Ron played chess fairly often, but while Harry put up a good fight, Ron never lost. At the same time, however, Ron also played Daphne, Slytherin's resident chess queen. Those games seemed to be evenly split between the two of them.

Harry and his friends threw pranks very often, thanks to Fred and George. They had an uncanny knack at figuring out the line between playful fun and malicious pranking, and walked the line for maximum amusement, pranking everyone relentlessly.

Halloween quickly approached, and Harry felt himself unconsciously tensing. For the past two years, something bad had happened on Halloween, and he had the feeling that this year would be no exception.

Harry was on edge all day on Halloween, magical sense thrown out as far as he could handle it, eyes furtively searching from side to side. He was not the only paranoid one, either. His friends, knowing Harry's luck, were also keeping a keen eye out.

Unfortunately, it was not anything anyone expected. As it so happened, Harry and his friends had Divination together that day. "Today we are introducing fire omens," Trelawney announced in her wispy fashion. "Please turn to page twenty-eight for how to interpret what you see."

Several minutes later, the fires were starting to die down, but the extra heat in the already-hot room combined with the heavy perfume was causing Harry's head to nod. After a minute of struggling, he finally fell asleep.

Dreamscape

_Harry could feel the wind whipping through his hair. Opening his eyes, he discovered that he was on something's back. Looking down, he saw that he was riding atop of Quetzalcoatl. "What's going on?"_

"_I don't know, Harry," Quetz rumbled, flapping his wings mightily._

_Harry looked behind him and saw, in the distance, Hogwarts quickly becoming a speck on the horizon. Eventually, Quetz stopped and suddenly disappeared, leaving Harry to fall to the forest below him. _

_Strangely enough, Harry landed on his feet, but made no sound. He could see a strange off-white mist-like substance floating in the air. It felt familiar to Harry, but he could not place it immediately. Just then, a very familiar rat scuttled into the clearing and transformed into a man._

"_Pettigrew," Harry growled, but it seemed neither Pettigrew nor the mist heard him. _

_Pettigrew looked at the mist and fell to his knees. "Master…"_

_Harry suddenly recalled where he'd seen that smoke before. It was after he had killed Quirrel, as Voldemort fled. "…Wormtail… you have returned," the mist whispered. _

"_Yes, Master." Without warning, Voldemort's spirit lunged at Wormtail, and was promptly fully absorbed by the rat Animagus. _

"_Ah," Voldemort's voice said in satisfaction. "Good. Do not fret, Wormtail, you shall have your body back soon. Now, to Riddle Manor."_

End Dreamscape

Harry's eyes flew open in panic as he clutched his scar in pain. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed under his breath. _I just had a vision of Voldemort!_

_:I know. This is quite disturbing…:_

"Mr. Potter, what did you see?" Trelawney asked, her eyes almost popping out of her skull. "You were moaning and clutching your lightning scar!" Everyone was staring at Harry at this point.

Harry quickly contorted his face into a mask of urgency. _These people don't need to know. _"I need to see Professor Dumbledore," he said hurriedly, rushing out of the room.

_:Are you really going to tell him?:_

_Yes, _Harry replied. _Not only will it cement the belief that his Memory Charm worked, but I may also convince him to head them off before they reach Riddle Manor, wherever that is._

Fifteen minutes later, Harry walked out of Dumbledore's office, inwardly smirking at how Dumbledore didn't suspect a thing. Dumbledore had theorized that Harry's scar gave him a connection to Voldemort, and Quetzalcoatl believed that Harry's innate powers of Divination combined with that to give Harry visions of Voldemort's activities. Still, Quetzalcoatl had not seen any part of Harry's magic being exercised with the vision, which was very confusing.

Dumbledore had, of course, decided not to send anyone to intercept Pettigrew and Voldemort. This way, he knew where Voldemort was, and could thus anticipate many of Voldemort's moves. Harry understood this very well, though he was wondering what would happen if he cast Holy on the spirit. Quetzalcoatl sent Harry an image of the wispy spirit exploding in a wave of pink energy, and Harry grinned, but it quickly faded.

_I still have to find out what those Horcruxes are… _Harry thought grimly, turning to the library. He had an idea; if he could locate at least one picture of Slytherin, he might be able to make some educated guesses about the Horcruxes. After an hour of fruitlessly searching through the library, Harry left to locate his friends; if anyone had seen a picture of Slytherin in the library, it'd be Hermione or Blaise.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully when she heard Harry's theory. "That is an idea, and it may narrow down the search. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Salazar Slytherin looked like."

"Wait a minute," Daphne suddenly said, "Harry, didn't you say that there was a statue of Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry, Hermione, Daphne, Theo and Blaise all shared a look of comprehension, and as one, they rushed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Down in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and his friends were inspecting the huge statue. After several seconds, Hermione spotted something. "Hey, is that a locket around his neck?"

Everyone looked closer and agreed. "Hermione, I'm going to levitate you up there, please tell me any engravings or anything that we can use to identify the locket in the real world." At Hermione's nod, Harry raised his wand. Deciding to try out a nonverbal spell, Harry concentrated extra hard as he swished and flicked. _Wingardium Leviosa! _

Everyone, even Harry himself, was surprised when Hermione suddenly began floating. Harry slowly lifted her up to the locket. After a minute's inspection, Hermione called back down, "There's an ornate letter S on it."

"Anything else?" Harry asked.

"Nothing! Now let me down!" Hermione was, several seconds later, gently deposited back on the ground. "Now that I'm on solid ground, since when can you cast nonverbally?"

Harry shrugged. "Just wanted to try it."

"That's advanced magic, Harry," Daphne commented dryly.

"And you're surprised after his Patronus?" Theo asked with a grin. "Hey, wait a second, is that a ring?"

"Where?"

"There! Middle finger, left hand!"

Harry peered up at it. "Yeah, you're right!" Without warning, Theo began floating up there, and Theo sent Harry a dirty look. Harry just laughed. "So, how do we identify it?"

"It's the Slytherin family ring," Theo reported. "Got a snake emblem, of course."

"Can anyone see anything else that could be considered important enough for Voldemort to turn into a Horcrux?"

After several more minutes of searching, they gave up on the statue. "Hey, do you think that Voldemort hid one of his Horcruxes here?" Theo asked.

"That is a reasonable assumption, considering the necessity of Parseltongue to open the Chamber," Blaise agreed.

"Well, let's look around then," Harry acquiesced.

Half an hour passed, and they discovered Slytherin's private library – which had been emptied, according to Sanath, by Voldemort shortly before his graduation. However, despite their searching, no one found anything that could possibly be a Horcrux. Sanath confirmed this by stating that Voldemort had not returned after his graduation.

So, stumped, Harry and his friends returned up the stairs to Hogwarts proper. At least now they had an avenue of study; Slytherin's family ring and his locket. That had made the five of them finally realize that if Tom Riddle could trace his ancestry to Salazar Slytherin, that meant there had to be records somewhere. And in that fashion, they could locate any living descendants to see if they knew of the artifacts.

Going to bed, Harry reflected that this year's Halloween had been very eventful. _A vision of Voldemort, and discovering the identity of two possible Horcruxes. Busy day. _He only hoped that they could actually locate these Horcruxes before Voldemort could revive himself.

Another two weeks passed as Harry and his friends researched Voldemort, but he was having trouble with other aspects of his life. Namely, Healing.

Madame Pomfrey was a very patient teacher, but she was growing frustrated with Harry's troubles in learning to heal. As with all things, she had started off with very low power spells, but Harry had immense trouble with them, taking weeks for him to master. It made no sense to her. _How can he perform that Cure spell – wonderful creation that is – but not be able to cast other medical magic? _

So, the day after Halloween, she had run a diagnostic spell on Harry. The readout seemed fine… until she reached the part about how much magic he had, upon which she felt very dizzy and sat down heavily on one of the beds reserved for patients. "What is it?" Harry had asked.

"You have Mage level power already," Pomfrey said faintly. "No wonder you have a hard time with these spells, you don't have the necessary control for it!"

"Oh." Harry had had the idea that was the case, but this only cemented the belief. "Alright, I understand. If I were to bring a couple of my friends here, would you teach them? I'm pretty sure they're interested in learning Healing."

"I'd be happy to. I haven't had very many people recently to pass on my knowledge," Pomfrey agreed.

Harry had immediately approached Hermione, who was ecstatic at the chance to learn from the Mistress of Healing. Then, playing on a hunch, Harry had talked to Ginny, who quietly yet fervently told Harry that she wanted to learn to heal people to make up for the Chamber incident. Harry was proud that she hadn't blushed until the end of their conversation. That meant she was getting over her crush.

Now that Harry had assured that Dumbledore had very little chance of finding out about the portal in the Chamber, he and his friends (not including Fred and George – they weren't interested in learning a second weapon) resumed their visits. The very first thing Harry did was visit his godchildren and their parents, and explained why he'd been gone for so long, apologizing the whole while. He was forgiven the instant he finished.

Harry also found out from Tsuri and Shugui that Squall, Zell and Quistis had all passed their SeeD exam, and that Seifer had not. The SeeD exam was to protect Dollet from a Galbadian invasion. Harry initially thought that it was a result of his sabotage of the Materia factory a few years prior, but the fact that they had been so single-minded on fixing the radio tower meant something more. The three of them were actually on a long term mission, which had begun a few days after the graduation. Harry found out from Tsuri that there was a huge robot thing that had seemed invincible and almost killed all the SeeD there.

From what Harry could gather from Headmaster Cid about the mission later, a revolutionary group in Timber had managed to work up enough funds to ask for SeeD assistance. A girl named Rinoa Heartilly, who was ironically enough the daughter of the leader of Galbadia's military, had been the one to talk to Cid, who had been very understanding. Cid had, in essence, lent Harry's friends to Rinoa's group in Timber to help out "until Timber is liberated from Galbadia."

However, Cid had received a report a day after Squall's group arrived in Timber; they had had to leave after a clever plan to switch the train cars with the President inside failed, on top of what happened next. As it so happened, Seifer had left Balamb Garden and had made his way to Timber as well, and attacked the President in the middle of his speech broadcast through the world using the radio tower in Dollet to enhance it.

The Sorceress Edea, according to Quistis's thorough report, had appeared then and asserted herself as the new ruler of Galbadia. She had been using the President the whole time, and cast him off when it was time for her to claim power. Additionally, Seifer had joined her, and Cid believed that Seifer was now her Knight. Harry agreed grimly.

After managing to escape from Timber, Squall's group – now including Rinoa – had sought out Galbadia Garden, where they received Balamb's orders. They were to take a new addition to the team – a gunslinger named Irvine who also excelled as a sharpshooter – and go to Deling City, where the mission was to assassinate the Sorceress during her parade, using Irvine's skills as a sharpshooter with a sniper rifle.

They ultimately failed, through no fault of the team's – Edea had put up a magical shield that disintegrated Irvine's shot. Squall had fought Seifer and won, and was joined by Quistis, Zell, and Selphie – a girl who had graduated at the same time as Squall and went with him on the mission – in the fight against Edea. However, Edea had merely toyed with them before using a Blizzaga to create spears of ice, one of which pierced Squall and the others.

A later report indicated that they had all escaped from the Desert Prison, and while Squall, Zell and Rinoa all hurried to Balamb to warn of an incoming missile attack, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine had left for the missile base to stop it. Unfortunately, Selphie's group failed, but Balamb was not harmed due to a shield that had been erected around it thanks to Squall's group. Selphie's group did, however, manage to blow up the missile base.

Squall's group had arrived just in time to stop the overthrow of Garden by a being simply called Norg, who was apparently the sponsor of SeeD, and gained a powerful Guardian Force at the same time – Leviathan. In the process of doing so, they activated the shields that protected them from the missile base.

It turned out that Balamb Garden became mobile through Squall's activation of the shields, so Cid gave Squall the title of Commander during the Garden Festival that had been in the works for weeks. Selphie's group had arrived only hours before, and they planned out a concert for that night to show their support.

That was where everything stood at the moment, but Squall had, with his friends, set out to Balamb City to overthrow the new Galbadian occupation and they had yet to return. Harry was astonished at how much had happened so quickly. His astonishment grew when he found out that not as much time had passed on Terra as it had on Earth.

"What's going on, Odin?" Harry asked at the portal back home. "I mean, I thought the passage of time had synchronized between our worlds!"

Odin looked at Harry seriously. "You remember that little tweak I added to your portal? Yes, it separated the worlds, but it also added a time element. It's not terribly extreme, but the relationship of the passages of time between Earth and Terra will fluxuate. For instance, you could not return for a year and find out only a month had passed. Inversely, you could come back tomorrow and a week could have passed here. The magic sends you _when _you need to be."

"Why didn't it happen before, last year?" Harry demanded.

Odin shrugged. "No idea. Maybe magic figured that there was no need to disrupt the synchronization."

Harry felt particularly disgruntled by that half-hearted explanation. "So, what do you know about the Sorceress Edea?"

"Quite a bit, actually. She's Headmaster Cid's wife, and the one who originally came up with the idea of SeeD. Later she became a Sorceress, ironically, as the SeeD were meant to keep them from becoming psychotic and controlling the world. The sad thing is that each generation of SeeD has had to kill at least one Sorceress since their creation," Odin said.

"What about her actions now?" Harry asked.

"Well, as a Guardian Force, I have better insight than most. Your friends have been experiencing glimpses into the past, thanks to a friend of theirs that they used to know before their Guardian Forces occupied their memories."

Harry cursed. "I _knew _I should have taught them Occlumency. But what does that have to do with Edea?"

"Everything," Odin answered. "You see, a Sorceress from the future has taken over Edea and is using her for some reason."

"What, how do you know that?"

"I'm the Legendary Guardian Force of Death, remember? I, along with Phoenix, the Guardian Force of Life, can sense souls. How else do you think we show up for those who've gained our trust?" Odin asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like we don't have better things to do than just following you all the time."

Harry looked sheepish. "I hadn't thought about it."

Odin grumbled for a few seconds. "Anyway, I don't know why the future Sorceress is meddling with the past, but I have a theory."

"What's that?"

"Time compression," Odin answered. "If this future Sorceress has consciousness in the past, the present and the future all at once, with the powers of all three Sorceresses, then she can compress everything into a single world and gain the powers of all the Sorceresses."

"Shit," Harry muttered.

"Well, I don't know for certain, yet," Odin reassured him. "It could be several things, really. That's the worst-case scenario."

"We better not get Voldemort near her, then," Harry said aloud. "If he does, he might be able to regain his body by uniting his present mind with his past body." Both Harry and Odin shivered at that. One Sorceress meddling with time was bad enough, but add a powerful Dark Wizard to the mix and both worlds might very well be doomed.

Harry was thinking about what Odin had said when he suddenly did a double-take. "Wait, you said you can sense souls? Can you sense souls that have been split?"

Odin shrugged. "Maybe, haven't tried it. Why?"

"Voldemort on my world split his soul into seven pieces to give himself a version of immortality," Harry explained. "We're trying to locate the artifacts he put his soul pieces into."

"Sorry, I can't help you there," Odin apologized. "As I've never met Voldemort, I wouldn't know his soul from anyone else's, and simply searching for a broken soul would be like… looking for seven dim bulbs amongst millions shining directly in your face."

"Damn, the Fates just can't seem to give me a break, can they?" Harry muttered. "I better get back; can't have Voldemort figuring out how to get here." With that, he entered the portal back to Earth.

A world and dozens of miles away, Voldemort smiled. Wormtail had successfully given him a rudimentary body, albeit similar to a child-like demon. At the moment, he was drinking a potion of his own creation using unicorn blood and snake venom, provided graciously by his beloved familiar Nagini.

He was growing stronger, but he was experiencing a strange phenomenon. His strength grew slowly and steadily, except for on weekends, where his recovery speed tripled. For all of his knowledge of theory and the Dark Arts, Voldemort didn't know the reason why that was.

That didn't mean, however, that he didn't have any more information on it. Having Wormtail cast diagnostic spells on him repeatedly over the week, Voldemort had discovered that he was leaking magic in a steady stream to where he determined Hogwarts was. He wasn't certain if the reason lay in the fact that he was the Heir of Slytherin, but it seemed unlikely since the leakage stopped over the weekends, and it hadn't happened before he was expelled from his body so long ago.

That left only one option in Voldemort's mind. _I'm somehow magically linked to Potter, _he realized hatefully. _And since I don't have a proper body to contain my body yet, my magic is leaking over to him. But, why does it stop over the weekends? It's as if he just ceases to exist for most of the two days. _

Voldemort paused, his mouth curling into a thoughtful frown – which looked very disturbing on his temporary body – as he felt his magic start draining again. _I wonder… could I use Legilimency to follow the link? It's just my body that's weak, not my mind. _With that, Voldemort focused his mental power and sent it down the link.

Harry, having just emerged in the Chamber of Secrets, suddenly fell to his knees, hands clasping his head as something brutally tore into his Occlumency shields. He had been utterly unprepared for it, and to make it worse, it seemed as if whoever it was already had a beginner's step into his mind, as if they had a foothold planted long ago.

Harry didn't have the time nor the mental power to contemplate this, however, as he was too busy desperately trying to hold his shields while fighting off the huge pain in his scar. The person behind it was very powerful mentally, and just as stubborn as Harry himself. Whoever it was, however, was very experienced in Legilimency, and was slowly but surely pushing himself – Harry could tell by the "feel" of the intruder that it was a male – into Harry's mind.

Suddenly, though, the attack paused. Harry took the opportunity to redouble his efforts and threw the presence out of his mind.

Voldemort was very surprised to see that the Potter brat had Occlumency shields, and was able to put up a decent mental fight despite the handicap – the curse scar of the Killing Curse gave Voldemort a foothold in Potter's mind, one that would be difficult if not impossible to erase. However, Potter was weakening now, he could sense it. He threw out a secondary probe, this one more subtle and less powerful than his brutal assault on Potter's shields. Because Potter had put all of his power into opposing Voldemort's first probe, he had left other aspects of his mind weakened.

Voldemort's second probe was geared towards not memories, but of the present surroundings. Namely, Voldemort wanted to see through Harry's eyes for a few seconds to determine where he was. And he succeeded. Voldemort looked around as best he could, and was astonished, momentarily weakening his assault, giving Potter the chance he needed to expel Voldemort from his mind.

_Potter's in MY CHAMBER OF SECRETS! _Voldemort thought angrily. _How did he get there? Why is he there? And what in the name of Salazar is that portal doing there?! _"Wormtail," he hissed dangerously from his seat by the fire in Riddle Manor. The rat Animagus was busy milking Nagini, but he immediately dropped what he was doing and kneeled at Voldemort's feet.

"M-My Lord, have I displeased you?" the sniveling disgrace to humanity groveled.

"Tell me, did you have knowledge that Potter is a Parselmouth?" Voldemort asked.

Wormtail shivered in fear even as he nodded. "Y-Yes, m-m-my Lord," he stuttered before taking a deep breath. "He revealed the ability last year…"

"And you did not mention it to me sooner?" Voldemort continued furiously. Wormtail merely whimpered. "You disappoint me, Wormtail. However, you are the only one who has returned to me after all these years… but that excuse wears thin. Tread carefully, Wormtail, or you will see just how much I have recovered. Now return to milking Nagini."

Wormtail nodded feverishly and made his way back to the snake, who eyed him in disdain before opening its mouth obediently. Meanwhile, however, Voldemort was contemplating his next move. _Potter has access to a portal, and from the looks of it, it leads to one of two places: either it's a completely isolated place that negates all external magics, or another dimension altogether. _

Voldemort's eyes glittered with malice as he thought of the possibilities. _I could put some of my Horcruxes there, or even better, spread them out throughout different dimensions! That way, it'd ensure my immortality even more! Now it's just a matter of extracting the information of how to make them from Potter… _

Voldemort was too mentally drained to make another Legilimency attempt, and his magic had been strained as well by forcefully activating the link with Potter. But Voldemort was patient, and could bide his time. He would wait, and like the snake his ancestor chose as his symbol, he would strike when his enemy was weakest.

-----------------------------------------------------

Again, sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoyed!

So, now we have the introduction to Time Compression, and Voldemort's had the idea of spreading his Horcruxes around the dimensions. Well, shit.

Read and review!


	4. The Secret's Out

OK, here we go, Chapter Four.

Disclaimer: NOT MINE! When will you guys get it through your THICK SKULLS! You better not be Crabbe and Goyle, ya know!

Chapter 4: The Secret's Out

Harry got up wearily from the floor of the Chamber of Secrets. "Son of a bitch," he gasped as he tried to regain his breath. His throat felt scratchy and sore, as if he'd been screaming. He had a huge headache from the mental battle that had ended mere seconds before. On top of that, his lightning scar was throbbing in pain.

Harry froze. _Wait, my scar? Isn't that my link to Voldemort? _The pieces fell into place in front of Harry. _Voldemort used Legilimency against me using the link as a conduit instead of eye contact. Shit. At least I kept him out. _

_:I wouldn't be too sure of that, Harry,: _Quetz said slowly. _:I'm seeing evidence of a secondary probe that took advantage of your preoccupation with the first and went to your sensory perception. I think he knows where you are.:_

"Damn it!" Harry yelled aloud. "If he knows where I am, then he knows that I have to be a Parselmouth, and that Sanaath is no longer under his control!" _I've got to strengthen my Occlumency shields even more…_

_:You have an additional disadvantage,: _Quetz reported. _:Based on what just happened, I'd say your scar acts as a secret backdoor into your head, partially bypassing your shields.:_

… _This sucks. _

_:Agreed.: _

Harry began walking back to the stairs up to the castle even as he began dutifully reinforcing his shields. _I wonder why Voldemort decided to use Legilimency now? He must be getting stronger, thanks to Wormtail. _Harry clenched his fists at the thought of that traitor. _But why now? It hit me just as I came out of the portal. Coincidence? I think not! _

_Could Voldemort know about Terra? _Harry kept walking as he turned the thought over in his head. _No, I don't think he does… he didn't get past my memory defenses. The most he could know about is the portal, but he doesn't know how to make it, and I've changed the password to the Chamber. The portal is safe, and I'm sure I didn't give him the knowledge on how to make it. _

Harry sighed. _But that still beggars the question of how did Voldemort know the instant I arrived back on this world. I think it has something to do with the link… perhaps he sensed the change of when I was available and when I wasn't? But shouldn't my Occlumency block that? _

_:No, your Occlumency acts as a huge, thick wall: visible, but hard to penetrate. You'd have to make your mind invisible, but that wouldn't help; Voldemort's link to you goes beyond it.: _Quetz explained.

Harry rubbed his temples wearily even as he continued restoring his shields to what they had been. _Just when I think I've got a leg up, it gets torn down… Fate, why do you hate me? _

Not long later, Harry was eating dinner halfheartedly, working on his already intense Occlumency shields, focusing especially hard on the part of his mind hosting his scar link. Noting the look on determination and concentration on Harry's face, Ginny walked over to him. "What's up, Harry? It's been a while since we've talked."

"Sorry Ginny," Harry apologized sincerely. "Guess I've been a bit busy lately. How's life treating you?"

"Not too bad at all," Ginny said with a smile. "Classes are actually pretty good now that we've got a good DADA teacher."

"I know!" Harry agreed. "It's nice to have a competent DADA teacher for once. I mean, my first year, you weren't here for, but Quirrel was all a-st-st-stutter-ering. I could hardly make out what he said!"

Ginny looked entirely disbelieving, leading Harry to reenact a typical class with Quirrel. She was laughing rather hard at the end of Harry's impersonation. "And last year, we had Lockhart!" Ginny managed to get out. "Who would you say was worse?"

"Lockhart, definitely," Harry said instantly. "At least Quirrel knew what he was talking about. Lockhart was a fraud."

"Fair point," Ginny admitted. "So, what's on your mind? You looked pretty serious a minute ago."

Harry's smile turned into a solemn frown. Deciding to switch to Parseltongue so no one else could understand in the Great Hall – after all, rumors were notoriously quick to spread, making it almost impossible to keep a secret – he sighed. _"Ginny, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say, ok?" _

_"Sure,"_ Ginny agreed.

_:Are you really going to tell her? I don't believe that's wise, considering her lack of Occlumency shielding,: _Quetz remarked.

_I won't tell her everything! _Harry retorted. _Just a little, not enough to make Dumbledore suspect anything if he reads her mind. Besides, it's also an opportunity to imply false things for the fool. Remind me to have Fred and George teach her Occlumency later though, k? __"Remember Sirius Black? He was sent to Azkaban for betraying my parents, and killing Peter Pettigrew along with twelve Muggles with a single curse. Thing is, he was framed!"_

_"What?"_ Ginny gasped.

_"Yeah, I know,"_ Harry said knowingly. _"It turns out that Peter Pettigrew is a Rat Animagus. He cut off his own finger and transformed that day after casting the curse that killed the Muggles, and he was the Secret Keeper for my parents, not Sirius."_

_"How did you find out?"_ Ginny asked in wonder. She believed Harry for two very good reasons. Firstly, he had never lied to her. Secondly, he had demanded absolute secrecy on this, and this story was just too crazy to make up.

_"Believe it or not, Fred and George held the key. See, they have in their possession a very special map that details where everyone is in Hogwarts at any given moment. They let me borrow it on occasion. Now, guess who I saw on the map in our first week back."_

_"Peter Pettigrew!"_

_"You won't like the answer," _Harry warned.

_"Where?"_

_"He was Scabbers."_

"NO WAY!" Ginny yelled, accidentally switching to English, making several people in the Great Hall glance in her way.

"It's true, I'm afraid," Harry said softly.

Ginny looked at Harry piercingly. _"That was a while ago, right? 'In our first week back' you said. It's mid-October now." _

Harry chuckled. _"Perceptive. See, Pettigrew was a Death Eater, one of Voldemort's followers. And as you may have noticed, for the last two years, Voldemort's been in the school in one form or another trying to resurrect himself. In my first year, the Sorcerer's Stone incident, where Voldemort almost got the Elixir of Life. Last year, the Chamber of Secrets incident, where had I not destroyed the diary, he would have finished absorbing your life force and been brought back. Now that he has a loyal Death Eater aiding him… I can't help but wonder if he'll succeed in being brought back the next time he tries. I'm worried."_

Now Ginny's face reflected Harry's worry. _"Looking at it like that, I see what you mean. Well, don't worry too much. Dumbledore's here, Tom wouldn't dare attack when he's here to protect us. After all, Dumbledore was the only one Tom was ever afraid of." _

_"Perhaps,"_ Harry conceded. He did have to admit Dumbledore was very powerful, and undoubtedly one of the few who could stand up to Voldemort. Having never faced Voldemort in his prime, Harry was uncertain of how he would hold up against the evil wizard. True, he had his junctions and physical fitness, but Voldemort had Dark Rituals to balance that. His Terran spells were powerful, true, but most of them were easily avoidable simply by dodging, and there were counters for the rest amongst wizarding magic. Plus, he still didn't know everything about wizarding magic. For all he knew, wizarding magic had even more powerful spells than Ultima, Holy and Flare, even when cast through a wand.

_Plus, there's the whole Horcrux thing going on, _Harry mused. _I mean, with at least one more Horcrux out there, Voldemort cannot be completely killed, which is just irritating. _

_:Agreed.:_

_"Harry? Earth to Harry?"_

Harry blinked and shook his head. _"Sorry, got lost in thought. Professor Dumbledore may be the only one Voldemort feared, but what about when Dumbledore is away? I mean, he's part of the Wizengamot, and let's face it, Dumbledore's getting old. Is he as powerful as he used to be? If Voldemort resurrects himself, could Dumbledore go toe to toe with him?" _

Ginny looked simultaneously frightened and indignant at Harry's words. _"Dumbledore's the most powerful wizard in the world!"_

_"That may be true now, but what about in ten, fifteen years? As I said, Dumbledore's getting old. Not even he can defy death. Unless, of course, he has a Sorcerer's Stone… come to think of it, he did work with Nicholas Flamel in Alchemy in creating the Sorcerer's Stone… maybe he knows how to make it?" _Harry wondered aloud. _"Anyway, what happens if Voldemort is brought back, more powerful than ever before, with his Death Eaters?" _

Ginny stood up. _"What do you mean by that?! Dumbledore will protect us! He always has before!"_

"Like when you were taken to the Chamber?" Harry retorted, lapsing into English in his frustration. Ginny froze. "Or how about when I faced off against Voldemort for the Sorcerer's Stone while Dumbledore was at the Ministry? Or how about in the last war, when Sirius Black went to prison for twelve years without a trial, because Dumbledore testified that he was indeed the Secret Keeper?! Dumbledore is not omniscient, and neither is he all-powerful. He is an old man, a powerful one, but still an old man. What I'm saying is that Dumbledore will not always be there for us! If Voldemort comes back – no, when he does, we have to be prepared!"

With that, Harry got up from the table, leaving the remains of his dinner… and a stunned Ginny. Harry's departure also signaled the hushed whispering to begin at all tables. Ginny turned to look at Dumbledore, slowly realizing that Harry had a point, it was a foolish idea to put all one's faith in a single person, especially when the person was old and likely to die of old age soon.

Dumbledore took the opportunity to use Legilimency on Ginny, his eyes twinkling reassuringly even as he felt his anger rise, reading Ginny's memories. _So, Potter doubts me. He is wise to believe that Voldemort will eventually rise again, now that he has a loyal follower with nothing left to lose, but Potter should see me as a powerful grandfather figure, capable of protecting him! I suppose, though, that it can't be helped. He has handled everything without me so far. I must prove to him that I am his figure of guidance, someone he can turn to, so he will never suspect my betrayal. Hmm…perhaps a show of faith… _He finished his meal quickly, before getting up and exiting calmly.

Meanwhile, Harry stormed all the way up to the Astronomy Tower, sending a few couples – one of which was doing _much _more than simply snogging – running by the look in his eyes. He was angry, that much was clear. _Why do they insist on trusting that conniving old man?! _Harry raged.

_:Because Dumbledore saved them from Grindelwald, and led the fight against Voldemort before he was defeated by your one-year-old self,: _Quetz reminded Harry calmly. _:He holds much fame and power, not unlike yourself.:_

_But why won't anyone THINK for themselves? _Harry asked, frustrated. _I mean, everyone against Voldemort is of the mind that Dumbledore will save them from anything! _

_:Remember, Harry, that Dumbledore is a common household name for all of these children. They were raised believing that you and Dumbledore are the epitome of goodness. Recall how Ginny Weasley was brought up with you as a bedtime story?: _Harry blushed just remembering it. _:Precisely. I imagine Dumbledore was much the same way. Think, how would you have been, if Dumbledore had saved you from the Dursleys?: _

Harry sighed. He could see Quetzalcoatl's point. He was about to leave, but then took notice of the excellent view the Astronomy Tower gave him. It was quiet too, so Harry took the opportunity to sit down and relax. Meditating, he slowly reached out with his magical sense. It had been quite some time since he'd practiced it. He was soon very glad he'd chosen to practice then, as Dumbledore was coming up the stairs. Quickly retracting his sense, he copied and edited the appropriate memories, preparing for the inevitable Legilimency from Dumbledore.

"Hello, Harry."

"Professor," Harry replied, opening his eyes. As expected, Dumbledore locked eyes with him and Harry could feel him quickly scanning through the recent memories.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling brightly as he smiled down at Harry. "I was wondering, Harry, if you would be interested in learning to be an Animagus? Your father was a stag Animagus, if I recall correctly."

Harry's eyes widened; he didn't need to pretend the shock. He did, however, have to manufacture the awe and respect he needed in order to stay in character. "Professor, I'd love to become an Animagus!"

_Excellent, _Dumbledore thought. _The perfect way to bring him closer to me, plus I can take advantage of his Animagus form when I steal his magic, and have two forms! _

Meanwhile, Harry was having a lightning-quick conversation with Quetz. _How's the core doing? Can it take a second Animagus form yet? _

A very brief, tense moment later, _:No, it cannot.:_

_Shit! And I can't let him know about my Storm Phoenix Animagus form! What do I do? _An idea struck him then. "But sir, from what I know, don't I have to be very powerful to have a form?" Harry asked, thinking as he went. "I would need to be really good at Transfiguration, right?"

"Among other things," Dumbledore agreed. "The Animagus transformation is perhaps the epitome of Transfiguration abilities."

"Then shouldn't I wait a while, maybe until my fourth or fifth year?" Harry asked innocently. "I mean, I'm only in third year now. Surely I'm not powerful enough to handle an Animagus form?"

"On the contrary," Dumbledore said confidently, "I'm sure you're powerful enough."

"What about the Animagus Revealer Potion?" Harry pointed out. "That's very advanced Potion-making, and I'm not confident enough to brew it yet."

Dumbledore looked at Harry curiously. "How did you know about the Potion?"

"In my first year, Professor McGonagall told me how to become an Animagus after she mentioned my father having the potential," Harry explained.

"I see. In any case, we can have Professor Snape oversee your brewing," Dumbledore said magnanimously. "I'm sure he won't mind."

Harry's mind raced as he tried to come up with something to counter Dumbledore… to no avail. Sighing inwardly, he smiled up at Dumbledore. "Alright. When do I get started?"

"I shall talk to Professor Snape. He shall inform you of when to begin brewing."

That night, Harry met up with his friends, along with Remus and Snape, in Harry's training room. Remus and Snape had worked together to put up some wards to ensure privacy, so as not to be intruded upon. "We have a problem," Harry began immediately, Metamorphing into his adult form. "Dumbledore wants me to become an Animagus."

"WHAT?" came the resounding chorus from everyone but Snape.

Harry nodded grimly. "Normally, I'd be all for it. There is one problem, however. Quetz has informed me that my magical core cannot handle another Animagus form yet, due to the fact that I haven't mastered my current form, the Storm Phoenix."

"But why would Dumbledore…" Fred began.

"…want to give you more power?" George finished.

"I'm not certain," Harry confessed.

"The answer can be found in Dumbledore's ultimate motives," Blaise said calmly. "Recall how Dumbledore wishes Harry to be his ultimate weapon? He requires some kind of hold on Harry, preferably emotional. He wishes Harry to be dependant on Dumbledore, to rely on him."

"Oh! And for Dumbledore to train Harry personally in the Animagus transformation would give Dumbledore the hold he needs," Hermione realized.

"So what?" Theo asked. All heads turned towards him. "Well, the Animagus Revealer Potion takes two months to brew, right? That gives Harry two months to master his form. Plenty of time. Then he can get his second form, without even having to go behind Dumbledore's back! And we already know Dumbledore is not to be trusted. So, really, what's the problem?"

Harry sighed. "Normally, I'd agree. However, the problem is that my Animagus form is magical, one of the most magical creatures there are. I've been trying for months now to figure out how to use the Storm Phoenix abilities – storm-calling, healing tears and travel by lightning, plus the song to invoke good memories in Light-oriented people, and bad ones in evil ones. Admittedly, I haven't practiced recently, instead researching the Horcruxes, but even so, how am I supposed to master those in two months?"

"Perhaps another Phoenix can help you," Daphne said thoughtfully.

"Who? Fawkes?" Harry asked in a disbelieving tone. Suddenly, Fawkes appeared in front of Harry in a flash of fire. There was a moment of silence, as everyone present was dumbfounded. "Um… hello, Fawkes," Harry greeted cautiously. "Did the Headmaster send you?" Fawkes shook his regal head no. "Did you come because I said your name?" Fawkes let out an affirmative trill.

Remus's eyes widened. "Fawkes… did something happen between you and the Headmaster?" Fawkes looked at Remus and bowed his head sadly.

"What?" Hermione asked. "How did you know, Professor?"

"I read up on Phoenixes a long time ago, and I recently reviewed them," Remus said casually. "They normally only answer to another's call if their current companion asks them to, or if the other is a powerful good wizard or witch in need of assistance. But, if a Phoenix's companion starts to lose his or her morals, or begins acting in a way that shames the Phoenix, then the bond between them weakens. If the companion continues acting in that way, the bond will grow so weak, that the Phoenix will look for a new companion."

_:This is an opportunity that may never come again.:_

_I know. But still, it feels wrong to take advantage of a being so miserable. Well, I suppose Fawkes won't be telling Dumbledore anything, so it's ok for me to transform. _Harry smiled at Fawkes, and transformed into Bolt, the Storm Phoenix, amidst the gasps of his friends, and the startled look from the Phoenix.

"Hello, Fawkes."

"You, you are a Storm Phoenix Animagus?" Fawkes asked in shock, his voice sounding somehow old yet strong. "When did this happen?"

"Last year, actually," Harry admitted.

Unexpectedly, Fawkes began to laugh, though to everyone but Harry it sounded like mirthful song. "You are a true Slytherin indeed, to be able to deceive Albus for so long."

"Why thank you," Harry said. "So, what happened between you and Dumbledore?"

Fawkes's head drooped. "He has been acting less and less like the person I joined so many years ago, especially towards you, Harry Potter."

"I gathered," Harry drawled. "He seems to want me to be his weapon against Voldemort, where I depend almost completely on him."

"It does appear that way," Fawkes agreed. "He has Obliviated you twice in the hopes of achieving that particular goal." Fawkes glanced over at Snape. "You do realize that Severus Snape is bound by an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore?"

"Yes, but he helps me whenever he can," Harry assured the Phoenix. "Right now we're searching out what might be Voldemort's Horcruxes."

"You know about the Horcruxes already?!" Fawkes squawked – an immensely amusing event for Snape, who chuckled under his breath until the Phoenix glared at him. "Which ones do you know of?"

"We know we've destroyed one already – Tom Riddle's diary. I destroyed it in the Chamber of Secrets," Harry explained. "We think Slytherin's ring and locket are two more." 

"You are correct in that. Albus confided in me about his discoveries about the Horcruxes each time he found some evidence," Fawkes informed Harry. "In addition to those, Hufflepuff's goblet and Riddle's snake familiar are also likely to be Horcruxes."

Harry did a quick mental calculation. "Ring, locket, goblet, snake, diary, and Voldemort himself… that's six out of seven. We're missing one."

"Yes," Fawkes agreed. "Unfortunately, if Albus had any idea on the last, he did not tell me. In any case, we must work on the ones we know of." 

"Wait, we?" Harry asked.

"Well, you all and I, of course!" Fawkes chirped cheerfully.

Harry hesitated. "Fawkes, not that we don't want you to come or anything… but won't Dumbledore get suspicious if you're not around anymore?" 

Fawkes's feathers visibly drooped. "I had not considered that."

"Fawkes, the best way you can help right now is to make sure that Dumbledore doesn't suspect us," Harry said sternly, before recalling Daphne's idea. "Though… as much as I hate to admit it… I could use some help mastering the abilities of my Storm Phoenix form." Harry _really _didn't like admitting he needed help on accomplishing something that others could accomplish alone. He'd read up on Merlin, and he'd accomplished a phoenix AND a salamander on his own. Harry wanted to be the best, to surpass everyone, without sacrificing his humanity. That way he could always protect his loved ones.

Fawkes perked up. "I would be happy to help! But, why do you need it? I am certain that given time you could master them on your own." 

"That's just it. I don't HAVE time," Harry explained. "Dumbledore's cornered me into becoming an Animagus, and he doesn't know about this form. I need to be ready for a second form in two months." 

"Oh dear, that is a problem," Fawkes said understandingly. "Well, whenever you have some time, fly on up to Albus's office, and I will teach you what I know."

"Thank you." Fawkes flashed out. With that, Harry returned to his natural human form, where he was promptly pelted by questions left and right, enough to give Harry the beginnings of a headache.

"Enough!" He shouted, morphing into his seventeen-year-old form. There was instant silence. "Now, one at a time."

"You could communicate with Fawkes in your Animagus form?" Remus asked instantly. Harry nodded.

"Did you ask for help on getting your powers down?" Hermione asked.

Harry made a noise in his throat showing mild irritation. "Yes…"

Snape, perhaps, had a more important question. "What, exactly, is going on? Is Fawkes searching for a new companion, and if so, has he chosen?"

"Yes, Fawkes is looking for a new companion, no he has not chosen for the sake of keeping us out of suspicion, and keeping Dumbledore arrogant enough to make mistakes," Harry related.

"Did he say anything else?" Theo asked.

"Yes, he confirmed our suspicions on Slytherin's ring and locket. They are indeed Horcruxes. Dumbledore's known for quite some time now, apparently, but even he doesn't know for certain all of them. In addition to the ring and locket, Hufflepuff's goblet is almost certainly a Horcrux as well. Dumbledore suspects Voldemort's snake familiar to also be a Horcrux."

Daphne frowned. "Wait, that's rather stupid. Even the most magical snakes are mortal. Why would he place a piece of his soul with something that would eventually die?"

Remus cleared his throat. "Perhaps I can answer that," he said slowly. "See, a familiar is bonded to a wizard's magic. As long as he lives, or in Voldemort's case, exists, the familiar will also live, provided that the familiar is not hurt mortally. So, by placing part of his soul in his snake familiar, he ensures that his magic will last forever…"

"Which means that the snake will also live forever, which means so will he…" Hermione breathed. "Brilliant!"

"Wait, does it work the other way as well?" Harry asked suddenly. "If Dumbledore were to suddenly change his ways enough for Fawkes to rebuild the bond, would Dumbledore live forever?"

Remus shook his head. "No, that type of magic, while similar to the familiar bond, is different. The Phoenix Companion bond doesn't allow the companion to live forever."

Harry swallowed hard. "What about me? I'm a Storm Phoenix Animagus, does that mean that I… will live forever?"

"Only if you stay in the Storm Phoenix form forever," Remus said firmly.

Harry sighed in relief, confusing almost everyone in the room. "Why would you not want immortality, Potter?" Snape asked in a neutral tone.

"I don't like the idea that I'll outlast all my friends and never get to see them again in the afterlife," Harry said with a shrug. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Harry cleared his throat. "We know the identity to most of his Horcruxes, we need to start working out their locations! Remus, if we manage to find one, can we use it as a compass to the others?"

"Sadly, no. I'd imagine the Horcruxes are in immensely difficult places to get into, with tight wards to keep such a thing from happening, even if it were possible."

Harry expected as much, but still growled low in this throat. _There went that idea. _"Then the only thing we can do is find out about Voldemort's past, who he was as Tom Riddle. He probably left the Horcruxes in places that hold some sort of significance to him."

"Why? Wouldn't it be smarter to put pieces of your soul in a place no one would ever suspect, even if they did know you?" Hermione pointed out.

Blaise fielded the question before Harry could answer. "Voldemort is using the artifacts of at least two Founders as his Horcruxes. He would want them as a trophy to his power, and he would place them in a location of significance so as to symbolize his power. It would indeed be smarter to use a location completely unrelated to you, but Voldemort is prideful and, if I am to guess correctly, believes that no one knows of his Horcruxes. He thinks himself safe."

"Not necessarily," Snape said silkily. "Recall this; Peter Pettigrew was Ronald Weasley's rat. Weasley went with Potter down into the Chamber of Secrets last year, and Pettigrew almost certainly knows that the diary was destroyed. He may have reported it to the Dark Lord."

"But Voldemort doesn't have a body," Theo pointed out. "And unless he's a complete idiot, he won't trust Pettigrew with the location of all of the Horcruxes. So they'll stay where they are until Voldemort gets a new body, _if _he gets a new body."

"There's something else we have to consider," Remus said suddenly. "We know that Voldemort entrusted his diary to his right-hand Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. How do we know he didn't entrust other Horcruxes to some of the races that allied with him in the first war? For all we know, Slytherin's locket is guarded by the dementors somewhere in Azkaban!"

"The Dark Lord felt that pureblood wizards are superior to all other races. He would not give part of his own soul to a race he would eventually betray; it gives them too large a bargaining chip," Snape countered the werewolf smoothly.

"Maybe so, but Professor Lupin does raise an interesting point," Harry agreed unexpectedly. "What if Voldemort had had one of his followers store a Horcrux in a Gringotts Vault? The goblins would fight tooth and nail to keep their reputation intact by keeping that vault secure, without knowing they held part of Voldemort's soul."

Snape again shook his head in the negative. "That is not in the Dark Lord's style. He thought himself near-infallible. He would almost certainly create his own protections for his Horcruxes, especially since it is possible to break into Gringotts, as he did only two years ago."

"So, again, we need to find out more about his identity as Tom Riddle, and where it would be likely to hide his Horcruxes," Daphne concluded.

"We'd love to help," Fred began.

"But we can't. OWL year and all that," George explained.

"We may not act like it…"

"… but we do understand that we need to study."

"But we do have…"

"… one thing to say."

They took a breath together. "Harry, we bequeath the Marauder's Map to you."

"What? Why?" Harry asked, astonished. "You still have the rest of the year!"

"Maybe so," George admitted.

"But we haven't finished…"

"… our Animagus forms yet."

"You can use it to its full potential," Fred and George said together. Fred pulled out the blank parchment and passed it to Harry, who took it slowly.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem, Harry," the twins replied in stereo.

"We'll still help where we can," Fred added.

"Just keep in mind that we still need to study, practice Quidditch, and maintain our reputations as pranksters supreme," George finished.

Harry nodded and turned to the group as a whole. "Now, back to business. Professors Snape and Lupin, do you know anything significant about Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

Snape shook his head. "No. The Dark Lord never spoke of his past at all."

"There's a trophy to a Mr. T. M. Riddle in the Trophy Room, but I'd imagine that it's for framing Hagrid for the Chamber of Secrets the last time it opened," Remus said neutrally.

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Wait, we can talk to Hagrid! He was in school at the same time as Riddle, so he'd surely know something!"

Harry smirked. _Already we have a lead. _"Good idea, Hermione. Shall we go visit then?"

"Not yet," Blaise warned suddenly.

"What, why not?" Theo asked, surprised at Blaise's dark tone.

"It's been too long since Harry's encounter with Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. He can no longer convincingly claim to simply be curious about Riddle," Blaise explained.

"Ah, we have to wait for another encounter with Voldemort or one of his minions first," Daphne realized.

"Not necessarily," Remus cut in. "Not if you stage it correctly. If you get Hagrid to introduce the topic, then you can justify a newfound interest in Voldemort's youth."

"That'll be very tricky," Harry mused. "With Dumbledore reading Hagrid's mind, it'd have to fool HIM into thinking that Hagrid brought up the topic. Especially since we're Slytherins, known for our cunning. Except for Hermione, the twins and Professor Lupin of course."

Snape sneered. "Fool Dumbledore into thinking you didn't manipulate Hagrid? An impossible job. Dumbledore uses Legilimency regularly on all the staff, but most especially on Hagrid as he is, generally speaking, the one with the most useful information from his frequent trips to Hogsmeade."

"So Dumbledore would know Hagrid's mind inside and out," Harry concluded. "Too risky to go to Hagrid, then. Any other ideas?"

"Let's summarize what we do know about Riddle," Fred suggested.

"And see what comes out," George finished.

Hermione cleared her throat. "His full name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, which is an anagram of his name. He is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Parents unknown. Six suspected Horcruxes made, one known to be destroyed." She paused. "I don't know anything else about him," she confessed.

There was silence for half a minute while everyone tried to work out anything that could be added. "Well, that was useless," Theo said flatly. "And we can't research him in public or Dumbledore will find out. It's too bad that diary was destroyed, or else we could get some more information directly."

Everyone shared a look of dawning comprehension – except Snape, who had long since perfected the art of looking bored even when having a revelation. "Theo you're a genius!" Daphne exclaimed. "Ginny Weasley wrote in the diary for a while, right? Maybe she'll have information!"

"She's still in the state where she'll tell Dumbledore anything," Harry warned. "We can't ask her."

Everyone was a bit disappointed when Harry pointed that out. "Who said we had to, Potter?" Snape suddenly spoke up with a sneer. "Have you forgotten that I am a Legilimens? I can merely take that information out of her during her next Potions class."

Harry could have smacked himself. "Why didn't I remember that? Wish I could do the same with Hagrid, but as you said, Dumbledore probably knows Hagrid's mind too well to do that without getting caught."

Blaise frowned. "Harry, did you not say you yourself had written in the diary as well? Did Riddle give out any information?"

Harry used his Occlumency skills to quickly review the memory. His eyes widened. "His middle name, Marvolo! That's his maternal grandfather's name."

Remus smiled tightly. "That's good, but we need a last name."

Harry shrugged. "It'll probably be useful for verifying that we have the right family. Well, we have a plan of action now. Professor Snape will use Legilimency on Ginny to recover the information we need. Hermione, how're you holding up with taking all the classes?"

Indeed, between classes, her Animagus search and researching the Founders, Hermione was looking rather pale. She sighed, and suddenly she seemed so exhausted. "I'm fine," she said tiredly.

"No, you are not, Granger," Snape said sternly. "How much have you been using that Time Turner?"

Everyone but Hermione and Remus gasped. "You've been using a _Time Turner?_" Daphne exclaimed. "Hermione, don't you know how dangerous it is to use one of those for extended periods?!"

This was, unfortunately, a topic that Harry hadn't researched. "What do you mean?"

Remus cleared his throat. "As you all know, a Time Turner has the capability of sending you backwards through time. However, there is a drawback. There cannot be two people with the same, exact, personal magical signature. The Time Turner will indeed send you backwards through time, and then draw on your own magic to create a protective magical field to keep you from being wiped from existence, and from aging, until the other you goes back in time."

"Under _normal _circumstances," Snape sneered, "the amount of magic taken is small, hardly noticeable. Repeated use, however, will significantly drain the user, as Granger has realized. She needs to rest in bed, _without turning back the clock_, until her energy levels return to normal."

Harry glanced at Hermione, who appeared to be trying to be outraged, but her exhaustion won out. "How long? And what about my classes?"

"A few days. Perhaps less. All of the professors know about the Time Turner, and they will understand you need the break," Remus assured her gently. "We all know your study habits, so you'll easily be able to catch up."

"If there are no other topics to be discussed, I shall escort Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower," Blaise said neutrally, before glancing around the group, his gaze lingering on Harry for a moment.

"Go." Blaise needed nothing more than that before leading Hermione out. "Right then, I think that's all for tonight. We'll meet again next month, same time. Meeting adjourned," Harry stated firmly.

That night, in bed, Harry thought to himself about the course of the day. _Let's see. Go to Terra? Check. Get attacked by Voldemort mentally? Check. Get manipulated by Dumbledore? Check. Get joined by Dumbledore's old Phoenix companion Fawkes? Check. Learn from Fawkes the identities of all but one of the remaining Horcruxes? Check. Make a plan to steal information we need from Ginny's head? Check. Learn that Hermione's been slowly killing herself by using the Time-Turner too much? Check. _

_:Sounds like an average day in Harry Potter world,: _Quetz remarked dryly.

_Oh, shut up. Hopefully the world will be less complicated in the morning. _

Meanwhile, up in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore was contemplating the day's events. "Why did Potter not jump at the chance to become an Animagus?" he murmured aloud. "Anyone would want that, especially with me teaching them personally. Yet, he was polite but almost insistent not to become one. Perhaps he simply doesn't want to his fame to get bigger after registering? Hmm… Even if that were the case, he surely would have told me that. Something is not quite right…"

Dumbledore got up and began pacing. _It's almost as though he doesn't trust me. But that's impossible, I deleted all of his old memories, and replaced them with fabricated memories that would almost force him to trust me! _"There was no mistake," he uttered fervently, confident in his Legilimency and Memory Charms. "I deleted those memories."

_Are you sure? _a little voice in the back of his head whispered. _After all, he fooled you before…_

As much as Dumbledore hated to admit it, the voice was right. Somehow, Potter had deflected Dumbledore's Legilimency onto subjects that did not give him away, and as a result had kept the Headmaster in the dark for a year. It had been only luck that Dumbledore had discovered Potter's frequent trips to Terra. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," Dumbledore uttered softly, thinking the Muggle phrase appropriate. "Perhaps it would be best for me to verify that Potter is indeed as I wish him to be."

A few days passed, and Hermione quickly recovered from the Time Turner overuse. As was his custom, Harry got out of bed, joined his friends in the Great Hall and with them began his morning training. Hermione was working on her strength, endurance and accuracy with her magically modified wooden whip. As his weapon focused entirely on powerful strikes, Blaise practiced with a wooden replica of his double-headed axe. The axe, of course, was applied the weight charm that Harry had taught them. Daphne and Theo still sparred, with Hermione occasionally joining in. Daphne's twin daggers matched well against Theo's twin blades, but when Hermione came to play, it was quite different.

Hermione's whip was a mid to long range weapon, while both Daphne and Theo were specialized for short range. As a result, Daphne and Theo were forced to learn how to avoid the painful cracks of the whip while trying to get close enough to hit Hermione. At the same time, Hermione realized that she couldn't just stay still and strike; she had to keep moving if she wanted to keep her range advantage, which made it more difficult to stay precise with her whip.

Blaise tended to refrain from sparring, as his weapon would seriously injure someone. He was joining in more often, however, and when he did join, Harry was ready with Cure spells. They came in handy, as Blaise would dodge or parry blows and then strike down hard on someone's arm, which more often than not broke it. Blaise had his fair share of pain as well, as everyone else's weapons were rather faster than his. _Cure is such a wonderful spell, _Harry thought to himself, grateful he could use it now without harming his magical growth. _It completely erases all evidence of broken bones and bruises. _

Harry, as expected, had the upper hand with all of his experience, and would often take two of his friends on at once so not only would he get better, but they get experience in tag-teaming a foe. Sometimes he would take three, and on rare occasions, all four. He never won when it was four against one, and rarely when it was three on one.

However, today, as they were sparring, Harry had a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. He stiffened and held up his hand, calling a halt to the spar. "Someone's watching us."

"How can you tell?" Theo asked.

"You know how you just know someone's staring at you? It's like that, I can sense it."

Hermione suddenly giggled quietly. "Your spider-sense is tingling."

"What?" the other four said together.

"Never mind. It's a Muggle thing. Basically, in comics, there's a superhero that was bitten by a special spider that gave him the abilities of a spider, plus this sense that would alert him to all nearby danger."

"Ah," Harry said. "Then yes, my spider-sense is tingling. Let's get out of here."

They quickly transfigured their wooden weapons back into plain sticks, and hustled back inside, just in time for breakfast. Not long later, Dumbledore also came down, closely followed by Snape. Harry narrowed his eyes. _This is odd. Dumbledore is never here this early for breakfast. That's why Professor Snape and the rest of us chose this time to eat. _"Dumbledore's up early today," he commented in a lighthearted tone. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe he has to stop by the Ministry today?" Hermione suggested.

"Possible," Blaise agreed.

But Theo shook his head. "The Wizengamot doesn't meet until next month, and we'd all know if there was an emergency session."

Harry, being the paranoid man he was, was instantly suspicious. _Was Dumbledore the one who was watching us earlier? _

_:Possible. Likely, even. But not certain,: _Quetz answered. _:Be cautious, Harry. If Dumbledore suspects that you've gotten around his Memory Charm a second time, he will stop at nothing to keep you from spilling what you know.:_

Harry glanced at Theo, whose eyes held a slightly glazed over look. Recognizing it, Harry knew that Theo was talking to Cerberus, who undoubtedly was telling Theo much the same thing Quetz had told him. Locking eyes with Hermione across the table, Harry used Legilimency to enter the very topmost level of her mind, and projected a message to her. _:Hermione, change of plans. We're not visiting Terra until Dumbles is no longer suspicious. All weapons practice is also canceled for the time being. Pass it on to Daphne, I've got Blaise:_

Hermione shoved a thought at him, which Harry read. _:Understood, Harry.:_

Harry repeated the process with Blaise, who merely nodded subtly. Thankfully, the process took only a couple of seconds.

Up at the Headmaster's table, Dumbledore's suspicions were rising. He was watching Potter, and his gaze seemed sharp, _too sharp. Could he be using Legilimency? I must know! _He frowned. "Severus?"

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Arrange for Mr. Potter to have an accident in Potions today, and bring him to my office afterwards."

"Yes, sir."

Snape glared at Harry as he often did, but when Harry met his eyes this time, Harry was surprised by a message. _:Potter, Dumbledore wishes to see you in his office after Potions today.:_

_:Alone or no?:_

_:Alone.:_

_:Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be good?:_

_:Because you are fairly intelligent.:_

Harry had schooled his face to look impassive, but internally he was in full-blown panic mode. Quickly finishing his meal, Harry casually said, "Hey guys, I've got something I've got to show you." Thankfully his friends got the hint. Leaving the Great Hall and quickly arriving at their training room, Harry took a deep breath. "We're in deep shit. Dumbledore wants me in his office, alone, after Potions today. Snape told me via Legilimency."

There was a shocked silence. "Well, obviously we can't leave you alone," Hermione stated firmly, receiving nods from everyone else. "Dumbledore can't do anything if there are witnesses who could escape."

"True, but what's keeping him from kicking us out of his office?" Theo pointed out seriously. "He's the Headmaster, and as a result what he says goes amongst the teachers. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't out-duel them all!"

"In addition, if we were to insist, we would confirm Dumbledore's suspicions," Blaise asserted. "We must do what we can, but ultimately it will be down to Harry."

Daphne's eyes narrowed. "Harry's powerful, but he's no match for Dumbledore right now, not without his Terran spells."

Harry nodded. "I'll bring them out if I must, but they're my absolute last resort. Even then, I'm not sure I'd win against Dumbledore."

"Perhaps we're going about this the wrong way," Theo said thoughtfully. "If we can keep Dumbledore occupied with something else, then maybe he'll forget about this for a while."

"The most we could hope for would be a delay," Daphne retorted. "And delays would just slowly confirm anything Dumbledore suspects."

"Not if it's something absolutely monumental," Hermione argued with a sly grin. "Shall we say, Fred and George meet the Marauders size prank?"

Everyone stared at her, slowly grinning. This was the first time Hermione had been the one to suggest a prank. Before, she merely helped with figuring out the finer points and being the alibi. Harry reached into his pack and pulled out the Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

The map quickly formed, while at the top writing appeared. _Mssrs. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail greet you, Mr. Bolt. What can we do for you? _

"We're in a bit of a pickle, guys. We need a huge prank, something big enough to completely derail Dumbledore and put him out of commission for a while," Harry explained.

_Mr. Prongs would like to ask why such a prank is needed. _

"Dumbledore, at the very least, suspects that I'm no longer under his influence and would like to remedy that," Harry said blandly.

_Mr. Moony is sorry to say that there is no prank they know that Dumbledore could not counteract. His power and knowledge of magic is just too great. _

"There goes that idea," Harry said in disappointment. "I just keep getting the feeling that I'm missing something. Something important."

_"Have you forgotten your Animagus form?"_ came the whisper from Harry's arm. Seth poked his head out of his tattoo state.

Harry slowly began to grin wickedly as a plan began forming in his head.

In Potions class, Harry was working diligently, seeming to focus entirely on his potion. However, all was not as it seemed. Snape was having a Legilimency conversation with Harry. After the mental connection was made, they no longer needed eye contact to maintain it, allowing them both to keep up appearances.

_:What are you going to do, Potter? Potions class is nearly over, and directly afterwards I am to escort you to the Headmaster.:_

_:You'll see, Professor,: _Harry replied, his projected thought just oozing with smugness. The tone was so reminiscent of James Potter right before an impressive prank that Snape almost suffered a flashback.

_:Why do I get the feeling that Dumbledore's going to come out of this tearing his beard off?: _Snape thought to himself, unwittingly projecting it.

Harry couldn't hide a smirk on his face as he stirred his potion. Soon enough, class was over, and everyone turned in their potions. Hermione's and Harry's were perfect, as usual, with Draco's close behind. Blaise's was on par with Draco's, while Theo and Daphne were struggling a bit, but managed to do a passable job.

"Come with me, Potter," Snape said coolly. _:What is your plan, Potter? I must know so I may assist if you require.:_

"Yes, Professor." _:I require no assistance, but thanks for the offer. Everything's already planned out.: _Harry shared a look with his friends, and they all smirked.

Again, Snape was reminded of the Marauders. He smirked as well. _Dumbledore's in for it. Oh, I am going to ENJOY this. _He silently led Harry to the stone gargoyle that guarded the passage to the Headmaster's Office. "Blood Pop." The gargoyle leapt out of the way, and Harry took the time to prepare himself.

_Junctions?_

_:Done.: _

_"Seth, are you sure you're going to be fine?"_

_"I am quite sure. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching!"_

Snape was about to knock, when Dumbledore's voice suddenly said, "Come in, Severus, Harry."

"Headmaster," Snape greeted.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry acknowledged.

"Ah, Harry. How have you been?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling gently.

Harry shrugged. "I've been doing well. Been struggling a bit lately with Astronomy, but I've got my friends to help with that. How're things going with you, Professor?"

"Alas, as always, paperwork is the bane of my existence," Dumbledore said with a chuckle, indicating a pile on the left side of the desk. "Lemon drop?" he offered.

"No, thank you," Harry declined politely. He could feel Dumbledore's subtle Legilimency probing him, but the false memories he had created seemed to be satisfying him.

"I noticed early this morning that you and your friends were outside, with what looked like weapons," Dumbledore began. "Now, as we do not allow fighting in our school, I must ask what you were doing."

"Practicing our Transfiguration, Professor," Harry explained. "We were practicing shaping the wood we found into various things, with more and more detail. After all, with more concentration we can make our Transfiguration even better, right?"

Dumbledore nodded with a smile. "And I suppose you went outside to use wood that wouldn't be noticed or needed by the school?" Harry nodded. "I've also noticed that you and your friends are more physically fit than the rest of the school."

"We do early morning workouts, sir. Hermione and I come from Muggle families, and we know that physically fit people live much longer than others. Plus, it comes in handy for Quidditch practice," Harry added.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. _Perhaps all is well… everything in his thoughts seem to corroborate what he tells me… but still, I must know for certain! _"I am glad to hear it, Harry. Now, as you may recall, Voldemort's spirit possessed you last year, and I would like to enter your mind to verify that all of his influence is indeed gone. Aside from your Parselmouth abilities, of course."

Harry had expected something to that extent, and plastered a worried expression on his face, injecting panicked thoughts into his deception. "Could he be turning me into something I'm not?!" he asked with an extremely concerned tone.

"Most likely not, but it's always better to be safe than sorry," Dumbledore replied smoothly. "Now, in order for me to get the best result, I need you to completely relax and open your mind to me."

"Alright, Professor." Harry visibly relaxed, though he kept his hold on his inner Occlumency barriers tight.

"Stay calm and relaxed, Harry, this won't hurt a bit." _Legilimens! _

Harry felt Dumbledore ease past his "natural" outer walls, and enter the persona he had created to hide his true barriers. He used his Occlumency training to clamp down on his emotions, though he did let some worry seep into the outer persona.

Knowing that he couldn't inspect every single memory, Dumbledore did examine Harry's mind carefully, searching for any trace of Voldemort's influence, and for a single clue that might incriminate Harry. _It seems my Memory Charm is holding up well. And there does not appear to be any influence from Tom Riddle, either. Something's missing, however… _Dumbledore frowned, trying to think of just what the nagging feeling was trying to tell him. While he was figuring it out, he paused and gazed thoughtfully at Harry's worried face. His green eyes were full of worry, and yet something else. _Trust? _Dumbledore guessed. _It is good that he trusts me, after all, he needs me in order to combat Tom Riddle. I wonder if Riddle has figured out the scar connection yet… wait! That's it, the scar link! It's missing from Harry's mind! _

Dumbledore was certain that the scar link should have some sort of representation in Harry's mind. After all, Harry was a Parselmouth, which was not only a magical talent, but one that took its roots in the speech center in the mind. On top of that, Harry had confessed to seeing Voldemort meet Peter Pettigrew in the woods, which merely confirmed the fact that their minds were connected.

Harry felt Dumbledore dive back into his mind with fervor, seeming to look for something. It was rather uncomfortable, but then, Harry felt Dumbledore slam against his internal shields. Eyes widening, Harry gave up the pretense and focused purely on his internal shields. _Get OUT! _With an almighty shove, Harry pushed Dumbledore out of his mind. Dumbledore was slammed back into his own head, but to his credit, he immediately recovered and drew his wand, standing up. Harry did the same.

When Dumbledore spoke, his voice was no longer calm and pleasant, but cold and hard. His eyes no longer twinkled, and his face was stony. Even his beard appeared stiff. "How did you get around my Memory Charm _again?_" he demanded.

Harry's face settled similarly to Dumbledore's, emotionless and hard, as his wand appeared in his left hand. "How could you tell that the persona you were going through was fake?" he returned.

"Your scar link was missing,"

Harry could have kicked himself. He had missed something so obvious! But he could berate himself later; he needed to focus on the present. "I see. Then to answer your question, I played on your arrogance and made you think you had deleted my memories, when in truth you had only deleted a _copy _of my memories. I still had everything behind my core Occlumency. It was _so _easy to play you."

"Clever," Dumbledore complimented, refusing to rise to the bait. "Now, Potter, surrender yourself to me, and become my instrument to power!"

Harry smirked. "Um, let me think. No! And guess what? You just gave me more than enough evidence to put you in Azkaban!"

"Not if I erase your memories first," Dumbledore countered grimly. He sent a silent stunner towards Harry, who ducked with inhuman speed and rolled backwards, bringing his wand to bear with a growing smirk.

_If a wand is an amplifier for magic, let's see what it does to Terran spells! Fire! _A larger-than-normal fireball erupted from his wand, aimed directly at Dumbledore, who countered with a silent water spell from his wand.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. _He knows silent spells already? I must be more careful. Expelliarmus!_

"_Protego!_" Harry cried out, and the Disarming Charm bounced off at an odd angle, striking right between two portraits of the Headmasters, who were all looking on, cheering on one side or the other. Harry had learned the Shield Charm under Flitwick's supervision, and was very glad he had mastered it now. _Note to self: thank Flitwick at next opportunity. Now then, let's try to cool him down a bit. Blizzard! Thunder! _

Seeing as how Harry was casting silently, with no wand movements as the spell was already formed, his wand produced a small snowstorm that tried to coalesce and freeze Dumbledore, but the wily Headmaster overpowered a Heating Charm on his clothes, which caused the Blizzard to melt before it could affect him. However, Dumbledore was NOT prepared for the lightning bolt that shot out of Harry's wand next. He almost didn't manage it in time, but Dumbledore transfigured one of the many papers on his desk into a hovering stone wall in front of him, which caught the lightning just in time. The stone wall exploded outwards towards Dumbledore, but the delay was just long enough for him to throw up a shield that deflected the stones around him.

Harry grinned tightly; Dumbledore was on the defense. Quickly running through his mental list of Beginner Terran spells – after all, those were the only ones he could cast without negative effects on his wizarding development – Harry contemplated his options. _Silence wouldn't have much of an effect, as he can cast nonverbally. Let's see if I can Blind him! _Dodging out of way of an unknown spell, Harry quickly cast another Fire, followed quickly by Blind.

But Dumbledore was too cunning to be caught in such a combination. Instead of putting out the fire as he did last time, he transfigured the stone beneath him to form a dome of stone. The fire burnt out on the stone, merely heating it up somewhat, and the Blind crashed on it without effect.

Dumbledore smirked behind his dome of stone before silently banishing the individual stones at Harry, who was forced into some creative acrobatics to dodge the high-speed projectiles. He fell to his knees with a cry when one caught him in the shin, breaking the bone in two. Thinking the battle over, Dumbledore lowered his wand.

_Bad move, Headmaster. Cure! _He waited for Dumbledore to get closer, and then tripped Dumbledore in a spin move, finishing on his feet. His wand was aimed directly at Dumbledore's heart.

Dumbledore was not known as the most powerful wizard in the world for nothing, however, and with a blast of pure magic, blew Harry backwards into the stone wall behind him. In shock and pain, Harry's grip on his wand loosened, and Dumbledore quickly Summoned it. "Give up, Potter."

"I'm not through yet!" An instant later, Harry's gunblade materialized in his hand. Once again surprised by Harry's move, Dumbledore found himself with the blade at his throat. "I'll be taking my wand back, thank you," Harry said pleasantly as his free hand plucked his wand out of Dumbledore's grasp. Then, with a vindictive smirk, Harry also grabbed Dumbledore's wand.

_What is he waiting for? He could have killed me before now! _That gave Dumbledore an idea. His bright blue eyes bored into Harry's as he spoke. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"Yes, I do," Harry replied coolly, feeling Dumbledore in his mind and calmly keeping him at bay. "You keep trying to brainwash me."

"I promise you, it would not be as bad as you think. You would be happy with your friends, and not have to deal with everything alone."

"You seem to think I'm still a child," Harry stated. "I've been making life and death decisions for several years now."

"Ah, but you've been alone the entire time, haven't you?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry froze, but then his eyes hardened. "I had my snake, and my other friend, everywhere I went."

"You know what I mean, Harry. You haven't had someone love you, someone that you could hold and share yourself with," Dumbledore continued, knowing he had hit a sensitive spot. "I can see it, you know. You're very lonely. Just give me my wand back, and I promise you, you'll have someone."

Harry was torn with indecision. His freedom, for someone he could love in the romantic sense. _I wouldn't have to worry anymore… I've already finished the permanent portal in the Chamber, so the worlds won't merge… Dumbledore'll probably train me to face Voldemort… _

_:Harry, what are you doing?! This isn't you! Wake up!:_

Harry shook his head, feeling as if he'd just woken up from a dream. _What happened? _

_:Dumbledore was somehow manipulating your emotions, which pushed your thoughts towards following him.:_

_Crafty old bastard. Any idea how he did it? I mean, my emotions are behind my Occlumency barriers!_

_:My best guess is that he hitched a ride on the adrenaline rush to your brain to partially bypass your shields.:_

Dumbledore frowned, sensing that his partial connection to Harry had broken. Harry's face returned to the coldness of steel. "I should kill you now. But I won't. You're still useful for your reputation, and I fully plan on exposing you when the time is right." With that, Harry snapped Dumbledore's wand and leapt out of the window, which had broken in one of the many rounds of spell fire. Landing nimbly on his feet, Harry ran into the Forbidden Forest.

Dumbledore straightened his robes. "Fawkes!" he called. A moment later, he was rather confused. The Phoenix should have flamed in at his call. _Come to think of it, he should have appeared in the battle to help me out. This can only mean one thing… _just then, he felt something deep within him break; it was his bond to Fawkes, his Phoenix Companion.

His scream of rage echoed into the Forbidden Forest, where Harry chuckled. _It's all going according to plan. _Transforming into Bolt, Harry flew towards a clearing where he knew Fawkes was waiting. "Hello, Fawkes."

"Good day, Youngling," Fawkes greeted. "I suppose it is time, then?"

Bolt's head nodded. "I am sorry about Dumbledore."

"It is not your fault," Fawkes said sadly. "I will stay here until you have learned all I can teach you."

"Thank you. Right now, though, I have to proceed with the plan."

Fawkes laughed. "I can just imagine Albus's reaction. Have fun, but remember to come back whenever you can!"

"Will do." With that, Bolt spread his wings and took off once more, this time returning to Hogwarts castle. It was almost time for dinner, which was perfect for the plan. Swooping down and inside where owls would normally enter, Bolt landed just outside of sight, near the shadows, waiting for everyone to come down.

Knowing that he had to mask his appearance – it was likely that someone would connect the dots between black feathers, green eyes and a lightning scar and Harry Potter – Bolt reached into his Metamorphmagus powers. They were slow to work, being an unfamiliar body, but after several seconds, his eyes were an electric blue. After more concentration, Bolt realized he couldn't remove his lightning-scar representation in his feathers. In a burst of genius, however, he had the idea of turning _more _of his feathers into that same shade of purple, essentially hiding the lightning scar within another pattern. To keep it simple, as the lightning scar feathers were on top of his head, Bolt added enough feathers to make it seem like a slightly elongated X. Then he settled down to wait for dinner.

After twenty minutes of patient waiting, it was time. Bolt almost lazily spread his wings and glided over to the staff table, and landed in front of one of the professors. The entire school fell silent in shock. Each of the professors had a different reaction.

Dumbledore was absolutely gobsmacked; not only had his Phoenix bond broken not even an hour previous, but someone he had not expected at all had just received a Phoenix. Not only that, but a Storm Phoenix, which was even rarer!

McGonagall was shocked into silence. Never in a million years would she have ever thought it possible, but unless someone quite powerful was making an illusion like this, her eyes were telling the truth.

Flitwick fell off his chair and stared at Bolt uncomprehendingly. He had heard about Storm Phoenixes, but never seen one before, and had never expected to see one before he died.

Hagrid looked like his birthday had come early, and he wasn't even the one who had received the gift of the Phoenix bond.

Sinistra was wearing a disbelieving grin. As the Astronomy teacher, her classes were often held up by stormy weather. _With a Storm Phoenix around, _she thought excitedly, _we might be able to control the weather! _

Vector was glancing between Bolt and Dumbledore, wondering why Dumbledore looked so shell-shocked. Trelawney was upstairs in her tower as usual, and Binns didn't come to dinners, being a ghost.

But it was Snape that uttered the feelings of everyone in the hall succinctly. Staring at the Storm Phoenix right in front him, he quite incredulously asked, "What the fuck?!"

------------------------------------------------------

Ha! How was THAT?! Fawkes leaves Dumbledore, Snape gets Bolt, and Harry kicks Dumbledore's ass. I've been wanting to do that for WEEKS. Be mindful, though, Dumbledore is still more powerful than Harry, he was merely caught off guard by Harry's gunblade and superspeed. The same trick won't work twice.

Anyway, sorry, but I can't promise the normal update by Thursday. I've got my finals week now, and I have last-minute assignments, and my writing has hit a slow point. I will promise to update as soon as it's done. Sorry.

Read and Review!


	5. Conspiracies

YAY! Chapter 5 is finally up! Sorry for taking so long, that was a HORRID case of writer's block, and my work schedule didn't help any either. Thanks for your patience!

Disclaimer: I update a HELL of a lot faster than JKR. So, this isn't mine.

Chapter 5: Conspiracies

"What the fuck?!" Snape's utterance of perhaps the crudest expression of incredulity known in human language echoed throughout the hall, almost sending Bolt into hysterical laughter. He did, however, allow himself a chuckle, which emerged as a highly-amused sounding chirp.

Snape glared at the bird in front of him. _This is impossible! Maybe he's looking past me or something. _He shifted to his left, and the black-feathered Phoenix's eyes followed him. _Apparently not. _"Listen, you bloody bird. I'm not in the mood to entertain today, so if you will just go and find whoever the hell you're supposed to bond with, I'd much appreciate it."

Bolt jabbed his head forwards at Snape, rolling his eyes, clearly stating, "I'm bonding with you, idiot."_:Professor, it's me, Harry Potter!: _Bolt sent through Legilimency.

Snape blinked, leaning back in surprise. After assimilating that information, he leaned forward and looked into Bolt's sapphire blue eyes intensely. _:Potter? What the HELL are you thinking?! Are you even thinking at all?!: _

_:Simple, really. This is my Animagus form, a Storm Phoenix, and my way of evading Dumbledore. We act as though we're bonded, and even if Dumbledore does a Locator Ritual, there's no way he can prove that it's me. So he won't have any legal authority.:_

_:Perhaps not legal, but have you forgotten about my condition?: _Snape sent back sarcastically.

_:Nope, haven't forgotten. But there's nothing keeping me from flashing away, and it is a good delaying tactic. Not even Dumbledore's reputation could save him if he was found firing curses against a Phoenix.:_

_:Nicely thought out,: _Quetz complimented.

Snape nearly had a heart attack. _:WHO THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT?!: _Legilimency was usually done between two people, at a single moment. Surface Legilimency was the ability to sense the presence of minds around you, in addition to surface emotions. But the Legilimency being used here was communication, which required mind-to-mind contact. So having a third person involved was naturally quite distressing.

_:Relax, Professor. Professor Snape, meet my Guardian Force, Quetzalcoatl. Quetz already knows you, since he's always here with me.:_

_:It is a pleasant surprise to speak with you,: _Quetz greeted politely.

This was reminding Snape uncomfortably of Quirrel with Voldemort sticking out the back of his head. He refrained from taking a deep breath, preferring to appear as though he were unruffled. _:Charmed,: _he managed to say dryly.

Before he could say more, Dumbledore cleared his throat. Both Snape and Bolt jumped; they'd completely forgotten that they were in the Great Hall, surrounded by people. Dumbledore chuckled. "So, Severus, care to share your bonded's name?"

"His name is Bolt," Snape replied calmly. "For some reason he won't divulge, he has chosen to bond with me." He glared at Bolt, who merely preened smugly. "He takes great pleasure in not telling me."

"Could he, perhaps, locate our wayward Harry Potter for us?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes locked on Bolt's.

Bolt looked at Dumbledore, before turning his back and flaring his tail feathers in a smooth move that was obviously meant as a snub. He looked at Snape, locking eyes once more. _:Tell him that I could, but I won't, because he's not worthy of my help.: _Birds can't smirk. Their beaks aren't designed for it. But Snape was almost positive that somehow Bolt had managed it.

"Are you joking?! I can't say that to the Headmaster!"

"What'd he say?" Dumbledore asked Snape.

Bolt merely jerked his head at Dumbledore. Snape glared at Bolt again. "He said that he could, but you're not worthy of his help, Headmaster."

The Hall gasped as a collective entity. Dumbledore was the most Light-oriented individual in the world; how could he not be worthy of Bolt's assistance, but Snape, the dark, greasy-haired man who favored Slytherin, be _bonded _to him!

The gaping shock on Dumbledore's face nearly caused Harry's friends to burst out laughing, but they managed to retain control…. barely. However, it also served a second purpose. Ginny's suspicions had been growing ever since Harry first talked to her about how it was unwise to put all of one's hopes on one person. She started paying more attention, and in true Slytherin fashion, gathered and put together enough pieces to catch a glimpse of the true reality – Dumbledore, at the very least, had a God complex, and _wanted _everyone to think of him an extremely powerful benevolent being.

Hearing a Phoenix – a Storm Phoenix, but a Phoenix nonetheless – deny his help to Dumbledore merely clinched it; Dumbledore was not to be trusted. _I need to talk to Harry's friends… _Thankfully for her, whispers had broken out, and she was sitting next to Hermione. "Hermione," she whispered. "I need to talk with you after dinner, please?" Hermione looked into her eyes, and after a pause, nodded. Satisfied, Ginny turned back to watching the spectacle at the staff table.

"Why am I unworthy, then?" Dumbledore asked politely.

Bolt looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes then, wanting to tell him directly. Adopting the voice of his 17-year-old self, he altered it slightly, making it a hair deeper, enough to keep Dumbledore from recognizing it. _:You, Albus Dumbledore, drove away the true protector of this school, and our future savior. You do not act when you know where the evil lies, and insist on controlling that which is beyond your grasp. Your impudence has cost you your Phoenix Companion, Fallen One. You are not worthy of my help. And do not think to use Severus to use me; for you will find that while you may have Severus under your control, no one controls me.: _

With that, Bolt flew up and perched on Snape's chair, ignoring the glare from the person sitting in it. Dumbledore was shocked at Bolt's accusations, but while his face showed a calmness befitting the Leader of the Light, internally he was raging. _Fawkes must have told him. I will make him pay, once I have achieved my goal of godhood! And now Severus has a Phoenix, and I don't! _Dumbledore saw in his mind's eye a vision of himself, being stripped of his status, his Sorcerer's Stone being stolen from him, and doomed to live the rest of his life – short as it would probably be without the Stone – without any influence whatsoever, his wisdom ignored. _My plan is falling to pieces! I must do something! _

Suddenly, a deliciously dastardly idea formed in Dumbledore's head. _Original? Perhaps not. Effective? Assuredly so. _For the moment however, he needed to put part of the plan into action. "Before we dine, I have news to share," he announced grandly, standing up. "My Phoenix Companion, Fawkes, has left me to find someone who needs his guidance more than I, and I wish him the best of luck in his endeavors. It is my great pleasure to see, however, that my colleague, Professor Severus Snape, has bonded to a Storm Phoenix. While they are rather darker in nature than a natural Phoenix – which, I imagine, is the reason why I was found unworthy – they are undoubtedly amongst the most respected magical creatures known, so I will ask that you treat Professor Snape and his Storm Phoenix Bolt, with the highest respect."

After giving his speech, Dumbledore glanced around into random students' minds. He was pleased to see that their confidence in him had been restored, and if anything, heightened further, except for most of the Slytherins. Dumbledore wasn't worried about them, however; they would see the Light when he became the only person to stand behind, after he stole Harry Potter's magic, after the boy killed Voldemort.

Speaking of whom, the brat was becoming increasingly… _irksome, yes, that's a good word for it. _Not only had Potter gotten past his Memory Charm a _second _time without alerting Dumbledore, he had _beaten _the Headmaster by taking advantage of his shock of seeing the boy with a secondary weapon. On top of that, Potter had stolen and broken his wand! While Dumbledore did have several back-up wands – from the wars against Grindelwald and Voldemort; he'd taken them from some of their followers and watched in amusement as they bought new ones from shadier stores in Knockturn Alley – that was Dumbledore's own wand, the wand he'd bought from Ollivander's wand shop back when _he _was eleven. It held great sentimental value, which had Dumbledore extremely angry against one Harry Potter.

Thankfully, Ollivander was quite skilled in repairing wands, so Dumbledore would go down to Diagon Alley that night and have it repaired after binding Ollivander to secrecy. In the meantime, he would make due with the limited wandless magic he could manage.

_Still, _Dumbledore thought stubbornly, _I will make him pay! I can't afford to break his wand, however; as brother to Tom Riddle's wand, it almost assuredly must play some part in his destruction. _That was rather frustrating, but Dumbledore let no part of his feelings reach his face, which was a mask of cheerfulness and warmth. Then he had the perfect idea. _I'll use his own wand to drain his magic, and then break it in front of him! Yes, that will do nicely, ironic as well. The symbol of his being a wizard, snapped, just as he dies a Squib. _

Dinner passed with quite a few rumors flying around quietly, almost all of which focused on the new presence of Bolt. The Storm Phoenix Animagus and Snape were having a silent conversation, however.

_:For the last time, Potter, I will NOT have you in my quarters!: _Snape asserted firmly.

_:Think, Professor.: _Bolt paused. _:You know, it's rather weird for me to tell a Professor to think. Mind if I call you Severus? After all, we are getting rather familiar, working together to achieve the same goal – to be free of Dumbledore, and of Voldemort.:_

Severus would have sighed if it wasn't completely contrary to his image. Potter had a point. _:You may, as long as no one else hears it.:_

Bolt appeared to beam; or rather, he would have, if he could manipulate his beak into the proper expression. As it was, he looked smug. _:Thanks, Severus. Call me Harry in that case as well. Now, think. Dumbledore will surely suspect if there's not even a bird stand in your quarters, and I will need to pop in every now and again to keep Dumbledore thinking that I'm your familiar.:_

Severus glared at Bolt with his ultimate patented Snape Death Stare… to no effect, as the bird was too amused at Severus's resistance. However, Severus's Slytherin mind betrayed him as he heard the logic and found himself agreeing, however reluctantly. _:Very well, if I must. What about the Locator Ritual?:_

_:Well, it will obviously point to me,: _Bolt said nonchalantly, ruffling his feathers idly. _:But I look nothing like Harry Potter, so with luck Dumbledore will assume that he's convinced me to protect him from such methods of detection.:_

_:Hiding in plain sight. Clever,: _Snape complimented after a moment of thought.

_:I would say so!: _Quetz interjected. _:After all, I helped him think of it.: _

_:The only real risk is if Dumbledore asks you if you know where I am,: _Bolt told Snape, completely ignoring his Guardian Force.

_:That risk is unacceptable,: _Snape informed Bolt flatly. _:Tonight, after I place a copy of this memory in my Pensieve, I will be modifying my memory so I can truthfully say I do not know your location.:_ "Headmaster," he began deferentially, "please excuse me. I must prepare my quarters for my new… _companion._"

"Of course, Severus."

Bolt flapped up and perched on Severus's shoulder, wanting to see the Potion Master's private quarters. Severus said nothing as he strode out of the Great Hall, down into the dungeons, and then turned into a room close to the room used for Potions class.

Inside, the room was neatly organized, with a firm-looking bed in the corner, a closet – _probably magically expanded, _Bolt mused – and a bookcase with a variety of books, both Light and Dark oriented. Near the bookcase was a comfy chair, as well as a light with which to read by. Surprisingly, there was no cauldron.

Severus apparently noticed the surprise and interpreted it. "I don't do my Potions brewing in here, dolt. I don't want my personal possessions harmed by a potential accident."

Bolt blinked, then nodded. _:Ah. OK.: _Hopping off of Severus's shoulder, he flew around the room twice, when something suddenly caught his eye. There was a shelf on the opposite side of the room as the bed, with a Pensieve on the far left. Next to it, however, was a wizarding photograph. It was of a much younger-looking Snape, standing next to a redheaded witch who looked oddly familiar. They were standing behind a cauldron of freshly brewed potion, smiling.

Severus noticed where Bolt was looking and sighed. Bolt's eyes jerked over to him; he'd never heard the Potions Master sigh before. "Lily. She was my Potions partner through most of Hogwarts, and my first true friend." He smiled softly in remembrance. "She was a genius at Potions, and I was sure that as long as we worked together, we could brew anything."

It was then that Bolt recognized the witch. _My mother… :But she was Muggleborn. I thought you would hate her for that?: _Bolt asked, confused.

Severus nodded sadly. "I did, for a while. She was Muggleborn, and rivaled me in my second best subject. But I grew to appreciate Lily's intellect, and we became friends. I would still call her Mudblood every now and again in public, but we both knew that was to appease the other Slytherins." He closed his eyes, apparently reliving something painful. "But then she had to start dating that boy, James Potter! He was my enemy, and had been for years." Severus's eyes opened as he punched the wall in anger. "And then things changed. James stopped pranking me in particular, and stopped instigating the fights. My enemy, my _rival_, had seemingly grown up, and left me behind."

Bolt's eyes widened. It was just like with him and Malfoy. If Malfoy were to suddenly completely cut off all ties, Harry would miss him.

Severus continued on, not having noticed Bolt's reaction. "I tried repeatedly to rekindle our rivalry, but no, James Potter had risen _above _it. Lily and James fell in love, and I was alone once more." Severus closed his eyes again and spoke quietly. "In my time of weakness, Lucius Malfoy introduced me to the Dark Lord, who promised me fame, fortune, and power in exchange for my services. I agreed, and took the Dark Mark."

Bolt's mind was whirling, taking in the new information. In a roundabout way, James Potter was the cause of his own destruction. Severus felt lonely and betrayed, and went to Voldemort, telling him the prophecy he had overheard, which resulted in the deaths of Harry's parents.

Even more mind-boggling was the fact that his mother and Severus Snape had been good friends prior to her death. Judging from his words, Severus had loved her as well, which was a rather creepy thought in and of itself. Learning from a man who's hated you since you were conceived was one thing; learning from a man who's hated you since conception and would have been your father if things had gone differently was quite another.

_:You loved her, didn't you?: _Bolt murmured softly.

Severus sighed again, and the answer was plain. Nevertheless, he said it anyway. "Yes. I was going to ask her out, but I kept putting it off. I didn't want to ruin the relationship I had with my best friend. And then, I found out that Lily had asked out James. After that, I didn't say anything because I knew I'd lost."

After quickly throwing out his magical sense to verify that no one was coming, Bolt landed and transformed back into Harry Potter, the seventeen-year-old SeeD version. Placing a hand on Severus's shoulder, he looked into Severus's eyes and nodded. Not even Legilimency was needed; Severus understood. Harry had been allowed a deeper look than anyone else previous into Severus's soul, and had not rejected him. "Thank you."

And Harry understood everything those two words meant. They had an understanding now, a powerful one. Severus had lowered his barriers for Harry, trusting him completely. Harry felt it only right that he do the same, and trust the Potions Master with his own carefully-kept secret. "Not sure I can top the tale of unrequited love, but at least you're not alone as an eternal bachelor." Harry sat down on Severus's bed.

Severus snorted, sitting down next to him. "You're the Boy Who Lived, remember? You could have anyone you want."

Harry shook his head. "The only person I would want is someone who sees me for me, not as the Boy Who Lived, not as the legendary gunblade weilder of Terra. I'm _too _famous. Hell, I didn't even want the fame to begin with, just the strength to protect my friends. I was happy on Terra, you know? I had a nice job, earned a lot of money, and got to travel, see the world. But I couldn't stay because of my damned scar link with Voldemort. No one wanted to see if he could figure out a way there through that link. If it wasn't for my scar, I would never have come back to this world. Never."

"Do you still feel that way? If your scar were to simply disappear, would you go back to Terra and never return?" Severus asked curiously.

Harry smiled. "No. I've made strong friendships here, and I won't leave them behind. Besides, this world's system of magic is interesting." He got up. "Well, we should go ahead and get this place prepared for a Phoenix resident."

Severus nodded and rose to his feet. With a few swishes of his wand, he conjured a bird stand and a blue-black bowl to collect the ashes from the Storm Phoenix's death and rebirth. After all, if Harry was going to be Bolt for some time, he would inevitably go through a Burning Day. After conjuring it, Snape transfigured the bowl to be more ornate, with snakes depicted on it. The bird stand was the same color as the bowl, and while simple, was just the right configuration for Bolt to land on comfortably, and about chest-level height, allowing Bolt a good view. The stand and bowl were located right underneath the shelf with Lily's picture.

Once done, Severus looked at Harry. "Transform back into Bolt," he said curtly. Harry did so, realizing that the Potions Master was about to Obliviate himself. He flew over and landed on his new stand, watching as Severus approached and put his wand to his head. With a look of concentration, he pulled his wand away, a silvery substance attached. He did that several times, and then paused, preparing himself.

"_Obliviate,_" Severus murmured. Bolt watched sadly; Severus should never have been put into this position, serving two masters on opposite sides of the war, forced to erase his own memory to help someone else evade what he'd fallen victim to.

Severus recovered and looked at Bolt, who was staring right back at him. Severus sat down on his bed. _I…I now have a Storm Phoenix Companion. _He knew he should feel honored about that, but instead he felt like there had to have been some kind of mistake. Both kinds of Phoenixes were inherently good and went to those who were worthy of their companionship, someone powerful and loyal.

But Severus knew his soul was far from clean. He'd done so many horrible things in the service of the Dark Lord, even if it was against his will, due to Dumbledore's Unbreakable Vow. _Why did Bolt choose me? _A sneaking suspicion entered his mind. _What if Bolt didn't choose me? I don't feel the connection between me and him. _He narrowed his eyes at Bolt. _:You chose to bond with me, correct?: _he sent through Legilimency.

_:Yes, Severus.: _Bolt replied evenly.

_:Then why is it I do not feel the Phoenix Companion bond?: _Severus demanded. _:I refuse to be played for a fool!:_

Bolt hadn't thought of that. Nevertheless, he quickly came up with an excuse. _:A Storm Phoenix does not bond as quickly as our cousins, the Fire Phoenixes, do. Our bond will appear when we trust each other completely.:_

Severus was silent, digesting this information. _This could explain why Storm Phoenixes are so rarely seen, let alone bonded with… _"What other differences are there?" Severus asked quietly.

_:Storm Phoenixes travel by lightning, rather than the flame that Fire Phoenixes use. Our tears still heal, and we can still carry very heavy loads. Storm Phoenixes have two songs. One to call a storm, and another to make good people feel loved, remembering their loved ones, while it makes evil people feel despair, drowning in their worst memories. I am a young Storm Phoenix, so I cannot use any of those abilities yet,: _Bolt explained.

"Anything else?"

_Ah, right, I need to mislead Dumbledore, _Bolt remembered. _:Yes, there is one more thing. I have the capability of hiding magical signatures, masking them, thus rendering them completely untraceable using magical methods. Those methods will instead point to me. And before you ask, yes I am hiding Harry Potter, and no I will not reveal his location.:_

"Why didn't you bond with Potter? He is more powerful than I, and is just as if not more loyal than I am," Severus asked curiously.

Here, Bolt had to get inventive. _:Harry Potter has a Guardian, who is more than capable of guiding and protecting him. You, however, do not.:_

_:Why, thank you,: _Quetz remarked. _:It is nice to know I am appreciated.:_

Meanwhile, Severus was pensive, assimilating all the information he'd been given. _So, Bolt's rather young for a Storm Phoenix, unable to use his magical abilities. And he's currently hiding Harry Potter. Good for Potter, he needed to get away from Dumbledore and his damned Locator Ritual. Wish Bolt could do the same for me,_ he thought bitterly, _but I am bound by that twice-damned Unbreakable Vow. _

A sudden growling sound echoed through the air, and Severus looked at Bolt incredulously. If a bird could blush, he would have. _:Er, sorry. I forgot I haven't eaten since lunch, and it is getting rather late. If you'll let me outside, I'll go eat, and be back in about an hour.:_

Severus nodded and stood. Bolt flapped up onto Severus's shoulder again, noting idly that it was a comfortable spot to be in. Reaching the Great Hall – where the last of the students was finishing dinner – Bolt took flight again. _:Here will do. Thanks, Severus.:_

The Potions Master merely nodded, and turned back to head back to his quarters. Bolt flew out through the owl entrance, and flew back out towards the Forbidden Forest. _I wonder how Seth is doing… _Bolt glanced at his left talon, where a small snake tattoo slightly darker than the talon was wound. _Hm. Is it possible to speak Parseltongue as a bird? _

_:I rather doubt it.:_

"**Seth?" **Bolt tried. However, instead of the hissing undertones of Parseltongue, Bolt heard a questioning chirp.

The tattoo shifted, and Seth poked his head out, which immediately made Bolt's Storm Phoenix instincts want to claw him. Repressing the urge, Bolt kept flying. _"Yes?"_

"**Just testing if you could understand me in my Storm Phoenix form."**

_"Of course I can,"_ Seth told him. _"Phoenix language is something almost all animals can understand. If a Phoenix tells a creature to do something, they generally do it, unless their pride is too great, or if they're Dark by nature. Dragons, for instance, hate Phoenixes, and Dementors wouldn't obey a Phoenix either."_

"**How do you know that? I mean, you're a Terran snake!"**

_"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't talk to other snakes. Sanath is a veritable gold mine of information. I need to know everything I can if I'm going to take her job someday. I was curious after you managed your Storm Phoenix form."_

"**Ah. That's useful."**

_"Quite so." _Seth retreated back into his tattoo state just as Bolt arrived at the clearing where Fawkes was residing for the time being.

"**Welcome back, youngling. How was your flight?"**

"**Wonderful." **

Fawkes nodded his head, his cheerful trilling lifting Bolt's spirits. **"I am glad. Now, it is time to learn the art of Locate."**

"**Locate?" **Bolt asked confusedly.

"**Yes. Locate is a magical skill used to find a person or place, given that you know its name. It is how magical owls are able to deliver letters to anyone, anywhere. However, some wards are able to block this useful ability," **Fawkes lectured. **"Locate is most basic skill of any magical bird. For a Phoenix of any type, however, it is absolutely necessary in order to utilize our Elemental Travel technique."**

Bolt nodded firmly. **"How do I use it?" **

"**Meditate, and clear your mind, focusing only on the person to be found,"** Fawkes instructed.

Bolt closed his eyes, and cleared his mind instantly utilizing his Occlumency techniques. _Wormtail. Peter Pettigrew, _Bolt decided. _If I can find him, then I can take him out of the game, and weaken Riddle. Now, where would he be…?_

"**Don't try to logically figure out where he or she is, **_**feel **_**for it. Focus your being on the person you want to find…" **By now, Fawkes was singing soothingly, lulling Bolt deeper into his trance.

_Where is Wormtail? _Bolt was reaching deep within, his mind's eye filled with a memory of Pettigrew, on the night he was caught. _Where?_

"… _**need **_**to find…"**

_I need to know! WHERE IS HE? _The details of the memory were becoming clear, and Pettigrew's face was filling up the entirety of Bolt's imagination.

"… _**must **_**find…"**

_I must find him, I must! _Bolt could feel his magic responding. He reached out to it, pulling it closer. _Where is Peter Pettigrew?! I must, I must… _Bolt's eyes snapped open, and he spread his wings wide. **"Locate!" **

Suddenly, Bolt felt information enter his mind. _Riddle House, Little Hangleton, United Kingdom. _He also felt a slight tugging in that direction. _I suppose it's meant to show me which way to fly._

"**I see you have got it. Now that you've done it the first time, it should come easier," **Fawkes told Bolt proudly. **"Work on it until you don't have to say it out loud, until it becomes almost second nature. When you have it mastered, you will learn how to call on your elements, the next step to learning Elemental Travel."**

"**Um, I have a question." **

"**Yes?"**

Bolt's stomach rumbled. **"What do Phoenixes eat?"**

Fawkes blinked, and then laughed merrily. Bolt was not amused. After several seconds of laughter, Fawkes calmed down. **"We Phoenixes eat fruit, nuts and berries, generally. We don't eat meat. There are some berries on that bush there if you're hungry." **

"**Thanks." **Bolt swooped down and snatched three berries in his mouth before pulling up. Swallowing, he repeated a few more times, before chirping in content.

"**You are quite the flyer," **Fawkes commented. **"Are you sure you're not really a Storm Phoenix turned human?" **

"**I'm sure. Thanks for the compliment, though." **Bolt flapped upwards and landed on a branch opposite Fawkes. **"I have to go now. Severus will be expecting me. Can you Fire Flash me there?"**

Fawkes shook his head. **"No. I am a Fire Phoenix, using the element of fire to travel. You are a Storm Phoenix, and use lightning instead. Our elements would fight each other, making it impossible to travel as such unless you defy the odds and develop a magical affinity for fire."**

"**Ah,"** Bolt murmured. _Interesting factoid. Might come in handy. _**"Wait, what about humans? You can Fire Flash humans, right?" **

"**Yes, but only humans with an affinity for fire, or those whose magic is not developed enough to have an affinity yet. As you grow older and more proficient with magic, you will develop the ability to sense people with your elemental affinity." **

Bolt nodded. **"I see. I should start flying then." **

"**I will be waiting here, youngling. Return soon." **

Bolt took flight once more, and as he was flying back to Hogwarts, he reached within his magic for the bird technique he'd just learned. Letting the Storm Phoenix instincts guide his flight, Bolt focused on Severus Snape, recalling the man's incredibly greasy hair, his hooked nose, and his sense of cunning. **"Locate!" **

As expected, Severus was in the Great Hall. Bolt then focused on Dumbledore's extremely long beard, and his twinkling eyes. Another Locate determined that he was in Severus's quarters. Bolt was not particularly happy about that; it meant that a confrontation was sure to develop.

Arriving at the Great Hall, he landed on Severus's shoulder. "Took you long enough," the snarky Potions Master grumbled, though it lacked its usual malice.

For a moment, Bolt considered informing his ride that he could now locate anyone as long as he knew him or her. He reconsidered a moment later, realizing that if Severus didn't know, then Dumbledore wouldn't know, and if Dumbledore didn't know, then the old coot would underestimate Bolt. _Besides, it wouldn't do for Dumbledore to know that I'm getting lessons from Fawkes. _

A few minutes later, Severus and the Storm Phoenix perched on his shoulder entered his quarters, where Dumbledore was sitting, quasi-patiently. "Ah, Severus. Welcome back. Might I ask where you went? You normally don't leave your quarters after dinner."

"Bolt required food, so I took him outside for him to find his food," Severus stated shortly. Bolt, wanting to watch the conversation, flew and perched on his stand.

"Ah, I see. Would you care for a Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore asked, pulling one out of his many pockets.

"No, thank you Headmaster."

"Very well. Now, Severus, do you have any information that is relevant to the matter of finding Harry Potter?"

Severus found himself nodding. Bolt looked at him, horrified; was the Memory Charm Severus had applied no match for the Unbreakable Vow? "Bolt has apparently met with Potter before he escaped. Bolt agreed to hide Potter's magical signature with his own." Severus looked at Bolt with a neutral expression. "As Bolt tells me, now any magical methods of locating Potter will result in locating Bolt."

In an instant, Dumbledore's peaceful expression collapsed into anger. "How dare you?!" Dumbledore yelled at Bolt. "He's the Boy Who Lived! Harry Potter must stay here at Hogwarts where he is safe! How _dare _you?!"

_:Simple. You're a manipulative old bastard who refuses to cease meddling with everything. Harry Potter just wants to keep his identity, and you refuse even that.: _Bolt brought himself up to his full height, glaring down at the Headmaster with as much intensity as the bird could muster. _:The real question is, how dare YOU drive Harry Potter out of Hogwarts?:_

Instantly, Dumbledore seemed to crumple. "Forgive an old man his mistakes; I thought I was acting for the greater good. Give me a chance to apologize to the boy."

_:And give you another chance to Obliviate him? And you were "acting for the greater good?" How is Obliviating a boy's past "acting for the greater good?": _Bolt shot back with a sneer evident in his mental "voice". _:I have been watching, old man. I know what you have done, and I know Harry Potter's destiny. If you truly wanted to help, then you should have told Harry the prophecy when he proved he was strong enough to bear it, and then you should have helped train him. So cut out the act, you aren't fooling anyone.:_

Again, Dumbledore appeared angry, the twinkle in his eye completely gone. "You ruddy bird! You're lucky you're a Phoenix, or I would kill you now. Severus! Can Bolt use his element to travel yet?"

"No, Headmaster," Severus answered, this time with a hint of reluctance.

"Good." Bolt's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, but before he could take flight from his stand, Dumbledore waved his wand. A wire cage appeared around Bolt and his stand, keeping him from being able to fly out. Another tap of his wand ensured that the cage was Unbreakable. "Let's see if a few days of starvation will change your mind." He turned around to leave.

Now angry himself, Bolt desperately wanted to punish Dumbledore, to let him know that despite being caged, he would not sing the truth. _:Fool. Do you really think that this will stop me for long? You have no idea what powers I hold.:_

"I don't need to. Potter's friends will undoubtedly know where he is, and then your efforts will have been for naught. Enjoy your stay, _Bolt._ Oh, and Severus? I order you not to let him free for anything." Dumbledore swept from the room impressively.

After a few moments of silence, Severus and Bolt looked at each other. "Do you have a way out?" Severus asked.

_:Let me check. I have a few ideas,: _Bolt informed him. _OK, let's see. Cage is too small for me to transform back. Can't Elemental Travel out. Damn it._

_:There's always me,: _Quetz reminded.

_True. Can't think of any other way, and I need to warn the others. Let's do it! Quetzalcoatl, come forth! _

_:My pleasure.: _

Bolt screeched and spread his wings upwards. Thunder rumbled loudly. Everyone with access to a window was looking at the sky incredulously. A huge storm had appeared out of nowhere, lightning flashing between the storm clouds, but there was no rain.

Dumbledore paused on his way back to his office at the sound of thunder, and looked outside. His eyes bugged out. _There is NO WAY he could call on a storm that huge. _But he couldn't think of any other explanation.

Lightning flashed again, and then a huge pillar of lightning erupted from the storm clouds, striking the ground. By now everyone was watching with wide eyes. When the pillar faded, there was something there, something that made even Dumbledore gasp aloud.

There, glowing with electricity was something from out of a legend. Yellow-white, an enormous bird almost the size of the castle was floating in front of Hogwarts. Dumbledore rushed back to Severus's quarters to stop Bolt from finishing whatever he was doing.

When he entered, he saw a smug-looking Storm Phoenix looking back at him. "Stop this at once, I demand it!" Dumbledore boomed.

Bolt had a wonderful idea, an idea worthy of the Marauders. _:I was wondering how quickly you would return. Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. You give me an oath on your magic to leave Harry's friends alone, and I'll call off Dad.:_

Dumbledore almost fainted. "That, that, that _thing _is your _father?!_"

_:Got a problem with that?: _Bolt was trying desperately not to sound amused.

Dumbledore shook his head quickly. "No, not at all. I solemnly swear on my magic that I will not use Legilimency on Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass or Theodore Nott for the purposes of extracting the current location of Harry Potter." A flash of white magic sealed the deal. _At least I still have Ginny Weasley. Perhaps I can use her to get the information from them, and then I can read HER mind. _

_:Good. One moment while I contact Dad,: _Bolt informed the Headmaster. _Come on back now. _

_:Understood.: _Quetz wrapped his wings around his body, preparing to disappear back into Bolt's mind, when, all of a sudden, a sickly green light shot directly at him from one of the windows. Unable to dodge it due to his size, all Quetzalcoatl could see before being hit was a flash of platinum blond hair. Then he felt all of his strength leave him, and Quetz collapsed on the ground before disappearing in a flash of white.

Feeling Quetz's defeat, Bolt was quite concerned. He would need to use a G-Returner – a potion that would revive a Guardian Force within the drinker – as soon as he was able. _Perhaps I can bluff it out, _Bolt reasoned. _:It is done. Now let me out of this cage.: _

Dumbledore walked over to Bolt's cage and brought out his wand. But instead of Vanishing the cage, he tapped Bolt's head instead. "_Somnius,_" Dumbledore muttered.

_Shit! _Bolt thought, but his mind was slowing to a crawl; he was getting too sleepy to think properly. Opening wide with a bird version of a yawn, he settled onto his perch and tucked his head beneath his left wing, falling asleep.

"There, that should keep him," Dumbledore said self-assuredly. "Now he can't call his father, and he can't cause problems. Severus, I order you to reapply the Sleeping Charm every eight hours."

"Yes, Headmaster." _Damn it all, just when things were looking up,_ Severus thought to himself bitterly. _Idiot bird, Bolt should have made Dumbledore swear to free him as well. _

The Sleeping Charm, _Somnius_, was originally designed for small children who had trouble sleeping, and for insomniacs. It was commonly used to put raving patients to sleep in Saint Mungos. There was no counter for it, simply because no one thought it was necessary to have a counter for such a mild spell.

The Sleeping Charm directly affects the brain, not the mind. It bypasses the mind's signals to the brain, instead implanting its own impulses that signal the brain to slow down to sleeping levels. The brain itself does the rest of the work, slowing down the heart, and disengaging the conscious mind. For the spell to work required direct contact with the patient, which made it highly impractical for duels, and even then, the Shield Charm _Protego_ would guard against its effects.

Even if the Charm succeeded, there was one more downside that Dumbledore had not considered. The Sleeping Charm only put the patient to sleep. It did not keep them asleep, unlike the Stunner, _Stupefy_. The length of sleep was based around how much sleep the brain decided was required. Naturally, this was normally not a problem for children or patients at Saint Mungos; children required more sleep than adults anyway, and patients needed to heal.

However, Bolt was not a child, nor did he have any injuries. Additionally, he was accustomed to less sleep. He woke up four hours after being put to sleep. Bolt immediately looked around, taking in his surroundings. Severus was in bed, apparently asleep. The cage was still present.

It was seeing the cage that reminded Bolt of the events of earlier. _Damn it all to hell! Someone took down Quetzalcoatl with a Killing Curse. There's no other explanation for why he was taken out with one hit. This means I need to revive him with a G-Returner, or wait a month or two for him to regain enough strength on his own. The cage is too small for me to transform back, I can't fly out, I don't know how to Elemental Travel yet. What can I do? _

Bolt paused to consider his options. It was while he was thinking that he really missed having Quetzalcoatl's voice in his head to help. _Now I'm alone… wait, no I'm not! Seth! How could I have forgotten? _**"Seth." **

The snake in his talon stirred and poked his head out. _"Yes, Harry? Wait, what's going on? Why are we in a cage? What happened?"_

"**Long story short, Dumbledore conjured this cage around me to make sure I can't escape. I summoned Quetzalcoatl, but he was taken down by a Killing Curse. Then Dumbledore put some sort of sleep spell on me. I need you to get out of here before you're discovered! Go to the Forbidden Forest, find the clearing where Fawkes is, and let him know what's happened."**

Seth's next words sounded almost rebellious. _"What are you gonna do? I can't just leave you here."_

"**Yes you can, and you will. I'm going to practice what I know, and wait until my Burning Day. When I become ashes, and I'm reborn from them, I should be able to transform back and make my escape!" **

Seth hesitated. _"For the record, I don't like this idea, but fine. Push as much of your talon out of the cage as you can." _Bolt did as requested, and Seth was able to squeeze through the wire cage. _"Good luck, Harry."_

"**You as well. Now go!" **

Seth left by way of a small hole Severus had left in his door for air ventilation, quickly slithering out. Bolt watched him go, fully cognizant that now he was truly alone. After several minutes, Bolt realized that Seth could be in danger, and decided to practice his Locate ability on the snake to make sure he was still alive and moving.

"**Locate." **_Dungeons, Hogwarts. _Bolt kept using the ability as often as he could focus.

After a few minutes, it changed. **"Locate." **_Great Hall, Hogwarts. _It was getting easier to use the Locate ability; Bolt didn't have to focus as hard to call it up.

Another few minutes later… **"Locate." **_Grounds, Hogwarts. I wonder when Seth will reach the Forbidden Forest? _

"**Locate." **_Forbidden Forest, Outskirts of Hogwarts, Scotland. Good. _

Bolt continued to use Locate for the next half hour, not realizing that in his focus to verify that Seth was alive and well, he'd begun to cast it nonverbally more often than not. After reassuring himself that Seth would be fine, Bolt then settled down to think on his options.

_Let's think logically. Seth is unavailable. Quetz is for all intents and purposes, dead. My friends don't know I've been trapped. Severus is bound by the vow. Fawkes can't get me out either, his Fire Flash would clash with my lightning element. _Bolt gave the Phoenix equivalent of a sigh. _That means there is little to no chance of being rescued. What about my own resources? _Bolt looked around again. _The cage has been charmed to be Unbreakable, and it's far too small for me to transform back. Possibility of wandless magic? _

The cage itself was made of magic, Bolt knew; it was a transfiguration of the air with enough power to sustain itself. In other words, it was a permanent conjuration. _Logically, I should cast the Vanishing Charm, _Evanesco._ But I do not have the power nor the strength of will to cast it wandlessly. But what about some of the weaker spells? Could I cast them? _

Bolt shook his head after a few moments consideration. Wandless magic, even if he was capable of using wizarding magic in this form – which Bolt was fairly certain he could – would drain him immensely. _On the other hand, I could use Terran magic… but I may as well work on my wandless wizarding magic. If I can do it in this form, then I can definitely do it in human form. Now, let's input some physics. This is a wire birdcage. Wire means metal. Metal melts at high temperatures, but can be quite brittle when frozen. The Unbreakable Charm renders the freezing option highly unlikely, but I don't really want to broil either. Time to try freezing it then. _

Bolt let himself fall into a meditative trance, reaching out for the powerful wizard inside him. Finding it and embracing it, Bolt opened his eyes and extended his left wing. _**"Glacius!"**_A small jet of frost emitted from his wingtip, and Bolt could feel the drain. Subconsciously attempting to frown, he tried again. _**"Glacius! Glacius! Glacius!!" **_Each spell grew stronger than the last, but it also drew on more of Bolt's magic.

_This is very draining… more draining than I thought I would be, _Bolt realized pensively. _I shouldn't be surprised, however. I'm accessing a secondary magical core than the one my form normally uses, and I have to shape the magic without a wand. And if I recall my magical theory correctly, the less control I exert over my magic, the more magic is wasted to achieve the same effect. Damn it, control issues again! _

Forcing himself to calm down, Bolt examined the wires he had been freezing. Again, if Bolt had lips, he would be frowning. There was a decent layer of frost on the wires, but the metal itself hadn't frozen. Deciding to give himself some time to let his enormous magical reserves restore his available magic, Bolt meditated.

A half-hour later, Bolt opened his eyes again to look at the section of wires he was intent on freezing. Instead of being reckless, he carefully grasped his wizarding magic and imprinted his intent on it, focusing entirely on the idea of sending a jet of super-cold magic to freeze the metal. Several minutes later, when he was certain the magic would do as he wanted, Bolt waved his wing at the section again. _**"Glacius!"**_

This time, the wires froze completely. Bolt panted hard; he had put quite a bit more power into the spell than necessary to cast it, for the purpose of making it powerful enough to freeze the metal wires to the point of being easy to break – resulting in being magically drained – but it had also been mentally exhausting to carefully manipulate his magic in such a fashion without a focus.

After allowing himself several minutes to recuperate, Bolt carefully balanced on his left talon and prepared to use his right to shatter the wire. _This is it! _Bolt struck, only for his talon to recoil from the blow, and the wire seemed undamaged. _Damn it, that stupid Unbreakable Charm is still strong enough to sustain that blow. Guess I need to dispel it then. _Latching his right talon into an unfrozen portion of the wire cage, Bolt once more gathered his wizarding magic. Then he paused, having realized something he hadn't considered.

_What if Dumbledore set up a ward after I fell asleep, one that would alert him if there was an attempt to break his Unbreakable Charm? _Bolt closed his eyes and extended his magical senses. All around him, in the stones themselves was ancient, powerful magic, but that was not what he was interested in at the moment. He narrowed his focus, seeking out the magics laid upon the cage.

As expected, he could sense the magic within and on the wire cage. _Within the wires of the cage must be the magic that holds the conjuration together. On top of the cage must be the Unbreakable Charm, and possibly more. But is there a ward? _Bolt sensed very carefully for one. _Not that I can feel, but I shouldn't underestimate Dumbledore. Hmm… I'll have to risk it. _

Releasing his magical sense for the moment, Bolt focused entirely on working with his wizarding magic. He couldn't use the Terran spell Dispel due to its status as an Intermediate level Terran spell, and he had no wish to slow down his core's magical development, so he had to make do with the standard _Finite Incantatem. _

_I need to get rid of this Unbreakable Charm. _Focusing his not insignificant will on that purpose, Bolt channeled magic down his right leg into the talon gripping the cage. _**"Finite Incantatem!"**_

Once again giving himself a few minutes rest to recuperate his magic – Bolt had gotten better at wasting less magic, but he was still quite wasteful – Bolt reached out with his magical sense again. Sensing the cage, Bolt was highly surprised to see that he'd gotten it right on his first try.

Turning back to the frozen section of the cage, Bolt determinedly drew his talon back and gave a mighty kick, shattering the frozen metal like glass. **"Freedom!" **

Severus Snape was a spy in the war against Voldemort, oftentimes getting much less than the required amount of sleep. Between deceiving the Dark Lord and being forced to obey Dumbledore, brewing potions for both parties in the dead of night, it became rare that he received more than three or four hours' sleep outside of the hospital wing. In response, he became one of those people that sleep very deeply to achieve the maximum amount of rest in the shortest time possible, and only wake to very loud noises, or other specialized conditions such as ward triggers, or the sense of magic.

As it happened, Severus was highly sensitive to magic. He had to be, as a duelist; a duelist's magical sense was sometimes a deciding factor in a match, as it gave the duelist warning for attacks from blind spots or a second spell hiding within the first. As Bolt cast magic, a frown had formed on Severus's face. He was on the verge of waking after Bolt's _Finite Incantatem_, and the loud crash made the irritable Potions Master wake up in an instant, grabbing his wand from his bedside table, aim and send a silent Stunner in the dark where he had heard the loud noise.

_Lumos! _Severus thought grumpily, lighting his wand and looking around. Bolt was in his cage. On the floor was what appeared to be frozen shards. Of what, Severus was uncertain. He glanced back up at Bolt, and then did a double-take. Part of the cage was missing! Severus's cunning mind, though slightly dulled by sleep, quickly came up with the connection. _Frozen shards of METAL? How the bloody hell did Bolt FREEZE the metal? He's a Storm Phoenix, with powers over LIGHTNING, not freaking COLD. _

_:Good morning, Severus,: _Bolt greeted calmly. _:At least, I think it's morning. It's hard to tell without a timepiece or the sun.: _

"_Tempus_," Severus muttered, and above his wand appeared the time. _2:13. Bloody hell. _"Why am I up at 2:13 in the morning?" Severus asked in a pseudo-calm voice.

_:Because I woke you up by breaking free?: _Bolt responded dryly.

"I thought you said your element is lightning?"

_:It is.:_

Severus glared. "The metal on the floor is frozen."

_:Why, so it is. What wonderful observation skills you have this morning, Severus,: _Bolt replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"How is that possible?"

_:Well, someone could have broken into your quarters, broken me out, and left just as you fired that spell.: _

"Is that what happened?"

_:No.: _Bolt was having fun irritating his Potions Master; he very rarely got a chance to use his sense of humor.

Severus glared at the smug bird in front of him. "Would you just TELL ME what happened then?"

_:I broke free.:_

"But _how _did you do break free?!" Severus demanded, about ready to tear his hair out. _This damn Storm Phoenix is almost as bad as James Potter was! _

_:What does it look like? I froze the bars, dispelled the Unbreakable Charm, and broke out,: _Bolt replied smugly.

"But your element is lightning, not ice! How did you freeze the bars when using an element not your own?!"

_:Ah, now you're getting to the important questions. Did you honestly think I would tell you all of my powers immediately, knowing that you're bonded by a vow to Dumbledore? I told you before, Severus, Storm Phoenixes do not trust as easily as Fire Phoenixes. What we must do is to get Dumbledore to release you of your vow. And then the whole truth will be known.:_

"Impossible. The Headmaster will never release me from my Unbreakable Vow of Loyalty." Severus was very glad that Dumbledore had merely restricted him from telling any portraits, ghosts, or persons. Animals did not qualify under any of those categories, so he was able to speak freely to them.

_:It is indeed possible, just very difficult. We need to put Dumbledore in a position where he will either die or release you willingly. In either case, you'll be free of the Vow.:_

Severus nodded, conceding the point. "And how do you propose we proceed?"

_:Put an illusion up, to make it seem that the cage is unbroken. Vanish the mess. When the time is right, I will strike.: _

"Bolt, the Headmaster has ordered me to use the Sleeping Charm on you every eight hours. How will you get around that?"

_:Can't you dispel it?: _

"No, there is no countercharm."

_:Then just hit me with a Stinging Hex or something to wake me up. Besides, Dumbledore's Sleeping Charm only lasted for about four hours. What makes you think yours will last longer than his? No offense.: _

"Good point, and none taken. The Headmaster is indeed the most powerful in the school." Snape waved his wand, and the frozen shards of cage vanished. Another wave and a jab later, an illusion filled the hole in the cage. Then he tapped the cage, replacing the Unbreakable Charm on it. "We still have some time before night ends. Do you wish to go outside?"

_:Yes, thank you.: _Bolt hopped out through the illusion and landed on Severus's shoulder. Severus tapped Bolt on the head, and the Storm Phoenix felt a strange sensation like a wave of cold spread from that point down his body. _:What was that?: _

"Disillusionment charm. It makes you blend in with your surroundings, like a chameleon." As Severus answered, he transfigured his bedclothes into robes.

Bolt was very curious about this, and wanted the incantation, but he couldn't ask without drawing suspicion; after all, he was a Storm Phoenix, and wasn't supposed to have a human magical core. So he kept silent, and when they reached the Great Hall, he took off. _:Thanks. I'll be back by four o'clock.:_

Severus nodded and turned on his heel, stalking off with his robes billowing impressively behind him. _Since I'm up anyway, I might as well finish grading those papers. Idiot first years. _

Bolt flew through the air, high-tailing it to the clearing where Fawkes awaited. There, he transformed back into Harry, who dug into his Item Bag attached at his hip, pulling out a G-Returner. After chugging it, Harry was gratified to feel Quetz's mental presence return.

_Hey Quetz, welcome back. So, who hit you with the Killing Curse?_

_:I am uncertain, but I saw platinum blond hair.:_

Harry sighed. _Must've been Draco Malfoy. Can't really blame him, though, from all appearances you were threatening the school._

_:Indeed. What happened while I was out of commission?:_

_Not too much. Dumbledore used a Sleeping Charm on me, trying to keep me trapped in his cage. I woke up in the middle of the night, froze the cage wandlessly, and then broke it as Bolt. Severus woke up, we talked, and I flew out here._

_"Harry!"_

Harry looked around, and then saw Seth coming towards him quickly. _"Hey Seth. Glad to see you got here safely Hey, wait, you can see me?."_

_"Of course I can!"_ Harry glanced down at his body. Indeed, the Disillusionment Charm seemed to have dissipated when he transformed out of his Animagus form. _"So, you here to talk to Fawkes, then?" _

Harry nodded and morphed into Bolt once more. Strangely, Fawkes wasn't in sight when he looked around. _I wonder where he is? _He closed his eyes for a moment to focus. _Locate! _Bolt felt a tug upwards, behind him to his left. Looking sharply in that direction, he took off, following the tug through the trees until he saw Fawkes on a hard-to-see branch. **"Hey Fawkes."**

Fawkes looked at him, his eyes shining proudly. **"Well done, you have clearly mastered the art of Locate. Faster than I expected, to be sure. Now, it is time for you to learn how to call on your elements. Do you know the elements possible, and how they correlate?"**

Bolt nodded. **"Fire, Ice, Water, Wind, Dark, Holy, Lightning, Earth. Earth and Wind are opposites, as are Fire and Water, Lightning and Ice, and Dark and Holy."**

"**Good. Furthermore, Fire has an advantage over Wind, Wind over Lightning, Lightning over Earth, Earth over Water and Water over Fire. Sometimes the elements may mix, creating new sub-elements." **Fawkes lectured.** "I know one of them: Holy Fire, the combination of Holy and Fire, obviously. Holy Fire has a purifying power more powerful than Holy or Fire by themselves, and cannot be doused by normal Water or Ice. It is weak, however, to Earth. Holy Fire is the natural element for Phoenixes, and gives Phoenixes the powers of our healing tears through the Holy aspect, and our fiery nature through the Fire aspect."**

Bolt nodded. **"I understand. As a Storm Phoenix, I have Lightning, right?"**

"**Correct. Oddly enough, Storm Phoenixes never have the Holy element, though they still carry the healing tears. Now, let's get started. Lightning's prime attribute is the ability to pierce almost anything. With a Lightning affinity, you are capable of making piercing spells, and Lightning-elemental spells, more powerful, for less magic. However, you must first learn how to call on your Lightning affinity."**

Bolt was hooked. **"How do I do that?" **

Fawkes shook his head. **"You must figure that out for yourself."**

_Hey, Quetz, any tips? After all, you are the Guardian Force of Lightning. _

_:Let me give you a taste of Lightning-oriented magic, and perhaps you can learn to emulate it.: _Quetzalcoatl injected a bit of his own magic into Bolt's system; just enough for Bolt to feel the difference.

_Wow, _Bolt thought to himself. It was exhilarating; Quetz's Lightning magic was electrifying in its power, and refined over and over into a single point. _So that's what Lightning magic feels like. Let's try that again. _

Bolt then grasped at his own magic, and now he could feel how his own magic was electrical in nature. Yet it was also something else, something sharp and relentless, flowing quick and wild. _A second affinity, perhaps? I'll deal with that later. _Bolt focused, willing his magic to imitate Quetz's own, to form Lightning. It seemed to be working; his magic was compressing, becoming electric… until all of a sudden his magic started raging faster in his system, flowing and sharp like a typhoon.

All around Bolt winds picked up as his magic leaked out into the air, a shockwave of wind knocking Fawkes from his branch and making the trees bend before the magical wind's might. Then the wind died just as suddenly as it had come, which gave Fawkes the opportunity to perch once more on his branch.

"**BOLT! That was NOT lightning!" **Fawkes yelled, his feathers quite ruffled. **"And I am NOT a target!" **

Bolt blinked, suddenly tired. **"Yeah, I gathered. I was trying to use Lightning magic, but then my magic just snapped out of control and went wild." **

Fawkes calmed down and appeared quite pensive, for a bird. **"Interesting," **Fawkes murmured to himself, **"you have two affinities already… Wind and Lightning… I should have known as much, with how well you flew… I have a task for you, and it will likely take you quite some time. You must learn to use both your Wind and Lightning affinities, separately. This will help with your magic control. In order to better yourself with them, practice with leaves or papers. Focus your magic through them. If they're cut, then you used Wind magic. If they're crumpled, you used Lightning." **

"**So, Wind's primary characteristic is cutting?" **Bolt asked.

Fawkes nodded **"Right. Nothing is sharper than a blade of wind, remember that. Now, you look exhausted. That wind must've used up a lot of your magic. Eat, rest, then try again."**

Bolt merely nodded before swooping down and eating some berries. He felt a lot better after a few minutes; his immense magical core was quickly restoring the magic he could use. Reaching out for a leaf with one of his talons, he had a hard time gripping them, and he couldn't hold them without punching through them with his sharp talons. With a sigh, Bolt transformed into Harry again, picked up a few leaves with his now-human hands, and focused his magic with an intense look on his face.

_Since Wind seems to come more naturally, I'll try to cut the leaf first, _Harry reasoned, recalling the fierce, unyielding power that had coursed through him as the wind knocked Fawkes off his branch. He reached out for it determinedly, only to find it terribly elusive. _Figures. I can't grasp it and hold it, but maybe I can guide it. _Instead of trying to force his magic into using its wind or lightning tendencies, Harry now envisioned his magic as the wind itself, an unstoppable hurricane of slicing winds, and pushed it into the leaf.

Opening his eyes, Harry was quite gratified to see that there was a tiny cut in the leaf, by the stem. He had felt his magic slowly shift into Wind magic. _Now I just need to work on doing that faster, with a stronger result. _Several more attempts later, Harry's leaf cuts were getting progressively larger, though slowly. After countless tries, Harry's single, small leaf was a little less than halfway cut.

Noticing the time, Harry transformed back into Bolt. **"Why is this taking so long?!" **he muttered irritably.

Fawkes merely laughed. **"Did you honestly expect to master an elemental affinity in a day? Most humans never try, and most that do never master it! It takes even Phoenixes several years to completely master an element! You are doing quite well, youngling. In my life I have seen it take months for a human to learn how to cut a leaf in his hand, yet you are mastering it quickly."**

Bolt felt a bit better about that. However, he was still a little worried. _If only there was a way to cut down the time it takes to do this. _**"Thanks. I should go now, though." **

They said their goodbyes, and Bolt quickly flew back to Hogwarts. _I wonder if Severus will let me practice on some of his parchment or something, _he wondered. _We would have to be very careful to make sure that Dumbledore doesn't suspect, but I might be able to work on it during the day… as long as I keep my magical sense up. _

_I wonder when Dumbledore will attempt to glean the information from me. His strategy – starve me, keep me asleep to keep me from calling on Quetz, and use that to weaken my Occlumency – would be a good one, if it weren't for the fact that Severus is on my side. In the meantime, I just have to keep working on my elemental affinities. As soon as I can Elemental Travel, Dumbledore is toast! _

When he got to Hogwarts, Severus was waiting. Quickly navigating back to his quarters, Severus let Bolt hop onto his perch in the cage and tapped him on the head with his wand. Immediately, Bolt became unable to resist the call to sleep, and tucked his head under his wing.

At the same time, over at Riddle Manor… a certain Dark Lord felt the time was right to strike again. _"It is time,"_ Voldemort spoke to his pet, Nagini. _"I have recovered enough strength to penetrate that Potter brat's mind, and learn the arts of dimension traveling. He must know, as that portal was not in the Chamber of Secrets when I was last there."_

Nagini nodded her head in a regal fashion. _"And then you can spread your soul across the dimensions, ensuring that you will never die! And I will be your immortal pet, Queen among snakes! Not even Hydra herself would be able to stand up to me after your immortality is complete!" _

_"Hydra?" _Voldemort asked curiously. It was not the first time he'd heard his loyal snake mention the name, but this was the first time he'd heard evidence that Hydra was a threat.

_"Hydra is the Guardian Serpent, the most powerful. Her word is law amongst all snakes," _Nagini explained. _"She lives in a different world, however, and is nearly impossible to find. Every world has a second-in-command to her, the one normally in charge while she is missing." _

_"Who is our world's second-in-command?" _

_"The Basilisk Sanath."_

The snake-child-like body Voldemort inhabited frowned deeply. That name, Sanath, was familiar. After reviewing his memories, his eyes widened. _"The Basilisk that lives in the Chamber of Secrets is this world's second-in-command to the Guardian Serpent?!"_

Nagini nodded. _"She is," _she affirmed bitterly. _"But I will take her place once I kill her!" _

_"I see… Nagini, I am about to invade Potter's mind. Do not disturb me." _

Nagini laid her head to rest at Voldemort's feet. _"Of course, my Lord." _

Voldemort focused on the magical link between himself and that accursed brat, sending his Legilimency probe. To his mild surprise, Voldemort found his mind to be sleeping. He grinned viciously. _Sleeping minds are at their most vulnerable. _He attacked the shields with his considerable mental might, successfully breaking through after about half a minute. Passing through some memories, Voldemort looked for the Chamber of Secrets, and only found a memory of his diary being destroyed by Potter using a conveniently sharp jagged rock.

Voldemort's fury was almost palpable – _One of my Horcruxes has been DESTROYED by that Potter! CURSE YOU! – _but he continued; knowing that there had to be more, he eventually hit on Potter's inner shields. These took some time, being much stronger than the outer shields. After a solid fifteen minutes of battering at those shields, Voldemort finally broke through…

…Only to come face to face with Quetzalcoatl, Harry's final guard. **"Leave now, or die," **Quetz threatened, calling up his energy.

Voldemort was completely taken by surprise by the presence of a second, awake and aware, mind. But he wasn't about to leave without his information. He quickly used his Legilimency skills to retrieve a single memory that held the knowledge on how to make temporary portals, and retreated just before Quetz's attack could strike him.

Back in his body, Voldemort grinned. _Now, what kind of memory is this? _He began watching the memory he had copied from Potter's mind.

_Harry's Memory_

"_Earth below me, water and fire beside me, air above me, lightning around me," Harry intoned. "Let these elements of power unite, and form a portal from Balamb Garden, Terra to Centra Ruins, Terra!" Having completed the ritual, Harry stepped through the purplish portal that appeared in front of him, reappearing in front of Odin and the permanent portal back to Earth._

_Break_

Voldemort's grin threatened to split his face. He had it! He had the ritual! _I wonder what else is part of this memory… _

_Harry's Memory_

"_What's going on, Odin?" Harry asked at the portal back home. "I mean, I thought the passage of time had synchronized between our worlds!" _

_Odin looked at Harry seriously. "You remember that little tweak I added to your portal? Yes, it separated the worlds, but it also added a time element. It's not terribly extreme, but the relationship of the passages of time between Earth and Terra will fluxuate. For instance, you could not return for a year and find out only a month had passed. Inversely, you could come back tomorrow and a week could have passed here. The magic sends you when you need to be." _

"_Why didn't it happen before, last year?" Harry demanded. _

_Odin shrugged. "No idea. Maybe magic figured that there was no need to disrupt the synchronization." _

_Break_

_Interesting, I wonder how that will affect my time there, _Voldemort mused before continuing on with the memory.

_Harry's Memory_

"_So, what do you know about the Sorceress Edea?" _

"_Quite a bit, actually. She's Headmaster Cid's wife, and the one who originally came up with the idea of SeeD. Later she became a Sorceress, ironically, as the SeeD were meant to keep them from becoming psychotic and controlling the world. The sad thing is that each generation of SeeD has had to kill at least one Sorceress since their creation," Odin said. _

"_What about her actions now?" Harry asked. _

"_Well, as a Guardian Force, I have better insight than most. Your friends have been experiencing glimpses into the past, thanks to a friend of theirs that they used to know before their Guardian Forces occupied their memories."_

_Break_

"What the fuck are Guardian Forces?" Voldemort demanded out loud. "And SeeD for that matter! And what's this about Sorceresses?!" Taking several deep breaths, he continued.

_Harry's Memory_

_Harry cursed. "I knew I should have taught them Occlumency. But what does that have to do with Edea?"_

"_Everything," Odin answered. "You see, a Sorceress from the future has taken over Edea and is using her for some reason."_

"_What, how do you know that?"_

"_I'm the Legendary Guardian Force of Death, remember? I, along with Phoenix, the Guardian Force of Life, can sense souls. How else do you think we show up for those who've gained our trust?" Odin asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like we don't have better things to do than just following you all the time." _

_Harry looked sheepish. "I hadn't thought about it."_

_Odin grumbled for a few seconds. "Anyway, I don't know why the future Sorceress is meddling with the past, but I have a theory."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Time compression," Odin answered. "If this future Sorceress has consciousness in the past, the present and the future all at once, with the powers of all three Sorceresses, then she can compress everything into a single world and gain the powers of all the Sorceresses." _

_Break_

"Ambitious, I'll give this future Sorceress that," Voldemort murmured. "Perhaps I can utilize that same ability when I visit their world."

_Harry's Memory_

"_Shit," Harry muttered. _

"_Well, I don't know for certain, yet," Odin reassured him. "It could be several things, really. That's the worst-case scenario." _

"_We better not get Voldemort near her, then," Harry said aloud. "If he does, he might be able to regain his body by uniting his present mind with his past body." Both Harry and Odin shivered at that._

_End Harry's Memory_

Voldemort blinked, then again. And slowly he began to smile, and then laugh. And outside, a certain old gardener named Frank Bryce, gardener for the Riddles for decades, shivered violently in bed and saw the lights on in Riddle Manor. He was killed less than half an hour later when Voldemort caught him snooping around.

--------------------------------

GAH! Voldie knows, Voldie knows, and all hell is about to break loose! Sorry again for taking so long to update.

I have news. Due to my heavily increased work schedule, I will only be able to update once every two weeks, on Fridays. Sorry, but it has to be done. I'll try to post beforehand, but no guarantees.

Read and Review!


	6. Back to Terra!

Hey, it's NeoRyu777. I know I said I'd be posting every couple of weeks, but I have a couple things to say about that.

1) I've been spending a hell of a lot of time with my girlfriend. Quite frankly, I'd rather spend time with her in reality, than work on a fanfiction.

2) My muse appears to be jealous of how much time I spend with my girlfriend, so I've been hitting some VERY severe writer's block.

I've gotten some really nice reviews lately, though. The one that really helped me finish this chapter was one by Gide Thomas. Thank you! It's nice to know that I've helped inspire you to write!

Oh, and for all you people you've already read Deathly Hallows, I have something for you at the bottom. Everyone else, don't read it.

Disclaimer: I update a hell of a lot faster than JKR ever did! So, naturally, I'm not her. and that means that Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Come to think of it, neither does Final Fantasy. That's Squaresoft's product.

On with the story!

Chapter 6: Back to Terra!

Bolt woke up to an amazing headache. He opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't; the light hurt and only made his headache worse. _Did I get drunk last night or something? _Not realizing he was in Storm Phoenix form, he reached upwards to rub his poor head, only feel feathers instead of skin and hair. He blinked. _OK, I KNOW I didn't get drunk. Wait! My Occlumency shields, they've been broken through! Quetz, what the HELL happened?! _

_:Bad news, I'm afraid. Voldemort attacked with Legilimency while you were sleeping.: _

_Did he get anything?! _Bolt asked in a panicked tone, his thoughts already rushing through worse and worse situations.

_:Yes. He managed to copy the memory of the conversation between yourself and Odin, concerning Time Compression and the possibility of reuniting his present mind and his past body.: _

_Fuck! _Bolt cursed. _Well, could be worse. He could've gotten one of the rituals to create portals… _

_:Actually…: _

Bolt blinked. _Do NOT tell me he got that too. _

_:Sorry, it was in the memory, right at the beginning.: _

Hearing that, Bolt let loose a stream of cursing that would have made a sailor blush. _We don't have time to waste! If Voldemort knows how to get to Terra, then there's no point in hiding my power! _Bolt flew out of the cage through the illusion, and turned to Severus who had heard Bolt wake up. _:Emergency! Get your ASS up RIGHT FUCKING NOW!: _

Severus jumped out of bed so fast that people would have thought the bed had bitten him. Bolt landed on the floor and transformed back into Harry. Severus's eyes widened, and he was about to thoroughly rip Harry a new one before Harry interrupted him. "No time right now, we can deal with this shit later. Go to your Pensieve, pull out the most recent memories. They'll explain everything. Do you have a way to send messages quickly to individual people?"

Severus swallowed his anger for the moment, seeing the grim expression on Harry's face. "If you need to get a message to them that quickly, use your Patroni. They can carry messages if you wish them to."

Harry nodded. Waving his wand, he focused on a happy memory, called up his magic and flicked his wand. "_Expecto Patronum." _Quetz and Prongs emerged from his wand, and Harry nodded to the manifestation of his Guardian Force. "Quetz, go get my Slytherin friends, tell them it's an emergency, and to meet 'in the usual place.'" Quetz nodded and flew through the walls towards the Slytherin Common Room. "Prongs, go to Hermione and tell her this: 'Hermione, get the Weasley Twins and get your ass to the usual place, pronto!'" Prongs bowed his head once and galloped through the wall. "Severus, grab Remus, and meet me there."

In the Slytherin dorms, less than two minutes later…. "GAAAAAAAAH!" The entire population of Slytherin was woken up by the screaming of every female in the third year dorm. A half minute later, a certain Daphne Greengrass dressed in sweats and a t-shirt tore through the Common Room into the boys' third year dorm, followed by a silvery bird-like Patronus, causing those who were actually up at that hour to look at each other quizzically, wondering what had caused this.

A few seconds later, a "GYAAAAAAH!" echoed throughout Slytherin. Then, exactly twenty-one seconds later, Daphne ran out of the boys' room, followed by Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini, both looking very grim, and very wet. They too were dressed in workout clothing.

Meanwhile, back in the Gryffindor third year girls' dorm… "GYAAAAAAAAH!" Lavender and Parvati screamed in unison as Prongs emerged from the wall.

"Oh shut up," Hermione scolded after sitting up. "It's just a Patronus, not a ghost or a Poltergeist. Ghosts and Poltergeists can't enter the dorm rooms because of special wards to keep them out, it says so in _Hogwarts: A History._" _But that's Harry's Patronus. What's going on? _

Prongs bowed to Hermione and looked her in the eye. _:I bear a message. 'Hermione, get the Weasley Twins and get your ass to the usual place, pronto!': _Prongs dissipated after delivering the message.

Hermione got a determined look on her face. _Something's wrong, we agreed that there couldn't be contact between us unless there's an emergency. _She quickly got dressed in her morning workout clothes.

"Where are you going?" Parvati demanded.

"That Patronus had a message for me. I need to go," Hermione responded curtly. Then she swept from the room with nary a sound, leaving a very confused Parvati and Lavender.

"… Lavender?"

"Yes, Parvati?"

"Is it just me, or does it seem like Hermione is channeling Snape?"

"It's not just you. Should we go see if he's dead?"

"… nah, if he's still alive, he'll skin US alive and use us for Potions ingredients."

"Good point. Even so, we should find out, just in case."

At that moment, Hermione strode across the Gryffindor Common Room, and all conversation stopped as everyone's attention was inescapably drawn to the bushy-haired witch who was doing an excellent imitation of Severus Snape's Stalk of Doom, the creepily silent walk that paradoxically drew all attention towards the user while simultaneously halting all speech. Severus Snape's Stalk of Doom was developed almost twenty years ago, when he was just beginning to be respected for his Potions talent. After being praised by Horace Slughorn with his talent for poisons, Severus was able to make himself one of the most feared in Slytherin, and naturally his pride demanded that his reputation have an equally reputable walk. So, after much trial and error and a visit to the Ministry of Silly Walks…. We're getting off topic, aren't we? Back to the story!

Hermione, utilizing the Stalk of Doom to full effect, made her way quickly over to Fred and George, who were actually studying for once. The crowd parted for her like the Red Sea, though in true Weasley Twin fashion, the redheads looked at each other in puzzlement, ignoring Hermione for a moment.

"…Gred?"

"Yes, Forge?"

"Do you get the feeling that Snape is right behind us?"

"Yes. But that's ridiculous!"

"Seeing as how this is the _Gryffindor _Common Room, one would think so."

"… Forge?"

"Yes, Gred?"

"Why's the room gone quiet?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, as one, both Fred and George slowly turned around and saw a stony-faced Hermione Granger. Screaming shrilly, they lunged out of their seats and tried to escape, only to be caught by surprise as Hermione brandished her wand.

_"Mobilicorpus!" _Fred and George were suddenly frozen in place, and Hermione began walking towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. Floating along behind her were the Twins.

"We didn't do it!"

"We're innocent!"

"We're not the ones who swapped your copy of _Hogwarts: A History _for Teen Witch Weekly!"

Hermione whirled on them. "You _swapped my copy for TEEN WITCH WEEKLY?!_" she shrieked.

"… George, you idiot," Fred muttered.

Backtracking quickly, George took a deep breath. "Your copy is inside our trunk, we'll get it out after this!"

"You better," Hermione told him with a glare. "Right now though we have more important things to take care of." They exited the Common Room, and Hermione looked at the twins sternly. "Harry's called a meeting. _Right now._"

Fred and George suddenly looked grim. "That must mean it's pretty serious," Fred muttered.

"Harry never calls emergency meetings if they're not," George agreed. "Put us down so we can run." Hermione flicked her wand, and a few moments later, the three of them were running down the hall, jumping down the stairs, and dashing into the dungeons.

Reaching the abandoned classroom, Hermione mentally did attendance. _Lupin, Snape, Fred, George, Daphne, Blaise, Theo, me… where's Harry? _She frowned. A couple of minutes later, Harry walked in, Seth wrapped around his arm freely.

"Take off the weight charms. Now," Harry ordered imperiously. There was no room for question; his voice demanded obedience. Hermione, Blaise, Daphne and Theo did so immediately and quickly. "Good. I have _very _bad news. Voldemort now has the knowledge to perform the ritual to create temporary portals, and a possible plan to regain his body using Terran magic."

"Fuck!" Theo cursed loudly.

"What?!" Severus yelped. "The Dark Lord could regain his body soon?!"

"Yes," Harry answered with a nod. "We have little choice now but to fight. We _must_ keep Terra from undergoing Time Compression."

"Time Compression?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

"Essentially, the Sorceress sends her consciousness back in time and uses her magic to pull time and space together from two or more times. She gets the combined powers of the Sorceresses she was possessing in the past, as well. The idea is this: if Voldemort acquires the evil Sorceress's help, then when she compresses time Voldemort's past body and present spirit will merge, giving him his body back," Harry explained.

"Wait a minute," Theo said suddenly. "Will Voldemort's spirit even stay alive on Terra, without a Horcrux to ground him?"

"I have no idea," Remus responded. "However, neither will Voldemort, considering it's never been attempted. So he'll probably bring one of his Horcruxes with him."

Severus frowned. "There lies a problem. We don't know the location of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes, and even if we did, it would be impossible to get all of them before the Dark Lord uses Wormtail to fetch one."

"On top of that, the temporary portal ritual can be done _anywhere_, _anytime_," Harry informed his friends. "There's no way of telling when or where Voldemort will use it, though I'd imagine it might be at Riddle Manor."

"If there was a way to locate Voldemort at any given time, we may be able to stop him," Blaise mused.

Harry brightened. "Blaise, you're a genius!" Reaching into his Storm Phoenix magic, Harry frowned in concentration. _Locate! _"He's at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, in London," Harry realized.

Remus blanched. "That's the Black family home! What's he gone there for?"

"Black, as in Sirius Black?!" Hermione gasped.

"Yes…" Remus answered slowly. "However, Sirius ran away from his family at sixteen, and his brother Regulus was killed by Voldemort. No one's left alive there, except possibly the Black family elves."

"Wait a minute, Sirius had a brother? How come he's never mentioned him?" Harry asked curiously.

"Regulus became a Death Eater, much to his parents' delight," Remus explained solemnly. "After discovering what it was really like to be a Death Eater, he tried to escape, and was killed."

"Then why is You-Know-Who…" Fred began.

"…at the Black family home?" George finished.

"A new headquarters?" Daphne offered.

Harry shook his head. "The Riddle House should be fine for that. No, odds are there's something Voldemort needs. But what? No matter, we need to take down Wormtail, _now!_ If we deny Voldemort a willing body to use, he can't transfer to Terra. Question is, how do we get there?"

"Portkey," Remus replied, silently summoning a nearby parchment. "_Portus,_" he muttered. "Take hold, everyone."

"Not everyone," Harry corrected. "Fred, George, you're not suited for combat. The reason I called you two here is for another matter; we need you to create a distraction so Dumbledore won't notice us being missing."

They saluted with a grin and rushed off. "Aye-aye, Commander Potter!"

Harry nodded and turned to Severus and Remus. "Severus, you can't come with us or you will lose any possible credibility with Voldemort _and _Dumbledore, and Dumbledore still holds you under that Unbreakable Vow of Loyalty. Remus, you need to stay here as well, as you're our only member that Dumbledore doesn't suspect, and if you disappear at the same time we do then you're compromised."

Both frowned, but nodded. "Good luck," Remus said worriedly.

"You will need it against the Dark Lord," Snape agreed.

Harry gave them a smirk. "Time for Voldie to learn what a mistake it is to piss off a SeeD. Let's move out!" Everyone but the adults touched the parchment together.

"Keep the parchment; it's good for a two-way trip. Activate," Remus whispered, and the Portkey whisked the children off.

Voldemort was not a happy parasite right now. He had decided to bring Slytherin's Locket with him as an offering to boost the Sorceress's power in exchange for giving him back a body with Time Compression. _After all, it's a Sorceress, and thus a she. Females have a weakness for jewelry, especially rare and expensive powerful jewelry. _However, there had been a hitch.

Flashback

_Voldemort, in Wormtail's body, crossed over his lake on the boat, the Inferi within the lake sleeping. Reaching the island in the center, Voldemort quickly walked up to the bowl of potion that was the final, impenetrable guard against theft of his Horcrux. After all, only one adult could cross the lake, and then the Fear Potion that had to be consumed before his Horcrux could be stolen would leave that single adult a sobbing incoherent mess, not seeing reality but instead their own greatest fears, and then being consumed by the Inferi when they wandered into the lake. _

_The Fear Potion's greatest weakness was cool water; its effects could be lessened considerably, or even completely counteracted by the simple essence of life. However, the goblet to be used with the Fear Potion had been charmed to Vanish anything conjured within. The only water nearby was in the lake, and the Inferi would awaken and attack if the surface was disturbed at the island. _

_Naturally, however, Voldemort had left an alternative for him and him alone. _"Rise," _he commanded in Parseltongue. Slytherin's Locket, Voldemort's Horcrux, rose out of the potion. Taking it quickly, the Dark Lord immediately noticed something wrong. _It's a fake! _he realized, his anger beginning to boil. He opened the locket and read the note within. _

_To the Dark Lord _

_I know I will be dead long before you read this _

_But I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. _

_I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. _

_I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, _

_You will be mortal once more. _

_R.A.B. _

_"Regulus…" Voldemort hissed in anger. He had killed the young fool before he was felled by the Potter child so many years ago, but he had no idea that Regulus Black had discovered his path to immortality, AND where he had hidden one of his Horcruxes. "I am sure he did not have the chance to destroy it before I killed him; he would be affected in some way, I am certain. Now, where would he hide it?" _

_"…my Lord," Pettigrew whispered weakly; the prolonged possession was taking its toll on the Animagus. "He might have hidden it at the Black house…" _

_Voldemort's eyes lit up. "Very good, Wormtail! You have been of more use than even I expected. Remind me to reward you when I have my body back." _

_"… yes sire…" _

_Voldemort dropped the false locket back into the potion and stormed back onto the boat to reach the Apparition point. _

End Flashback

From there he had Apparated directly to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, and entered the house. "Who are you?!" Mrs. Black screeched. "Kreacher! Escort him out!"

With a pop, a ragged-looking, aged house-elf appeared. "As you command, Mistress." He raised his hand, and was about to Banish Voldemort when the Dark Lord spoke.

"I may have possessed this simpleton's body, but I am still your Lord, Voldemort!"

"Halt, Kreature!" Mrs. Black ordered hurriedly as she dipped into a bow. "Forgive me, my Lord, I did not realize that you had survived your encounter with Potter so many years ago."

"Quite understandable," Voldemort said, waving it off. "I am here because of your son."

"Sirius? Traitor to the family!" Mrs. Black spat.

"Wrong traitor, I'm afraid," Voldemort replied politely. "I am here about Regulus."

Mrs. Black now looked confused. "But he's been dead for many years now, what possible business could he still have?"

"He stole one of the objects that ensure my immortality," Voldemort explained. "Slytherin's own locket. Naturally, I need it back so I can keep it from being destroyed. Difficult as it may be, it is still possible. Have you seen it? It's quite heavy, will not open and has an ornate 'S' on it."

Mrs. Black nodded once. "Kreacher! Fetch the locket the Dark Lord speaks of!"

Kreacher hesitated for a moment, then bowed and disappeared with a CRACK! A mere minute later, he reappeared, the locket in hand. Reaching out to grasp it, Voldemort smiled; he could feel the magic within. _My Horcrux… _

CRASH! Everyone turned to face the window, and saw a young man with long black hair pulled into a ponytail kneeling on the floor as the glass around him fell. "Voldemort," the man said coldly, sending Voldemort in for a loop. _That voice, it sounds so familiar… _

Inside, Wormtail was panicked. _James?! But HOW?! _

Picking up on his host's thoughts, Voldemort too panicked. "James Potter?! How are you still alive?!"

Suppressing a grin at the weapon Voldemort had just handed him, Harry used his Metamorphmagus skills to turn his eyes blue, and to shift his scar to underneath his hair. "Surprised, Voldemort? Now prepare to die!"

"I killed you once, I can do it again!" Voldemort raged, forgetting about his locket. _"Avada Kedavra!" _

Harry dodged effortlessly to his left. "Is that the best you've got, you old windbag? _Stupefy!" _

Voldemort cursed Wormtail's rather obese body as he quickly put up a silent _Protego_, deflecting the Stunner. _I can't win this battle in Wormtail's body. I must escape! Accio locket! _

The locket flew through the air, and realizing it for what it was, Harry quickly raised his own wand. _"Accio locket!" _

The two magical forces pulled on the locket, fighting for domination. Voldemort injected more power into his spell, and so did Harry. "KREACHER!" Mrs. Black yelled. "KILL POTTER!"

"Yes, Mistress!" Kreacher silently conjured a wicked butcher's knife and lunged at Harry, who drew his gunblade and blocked the vicious elf. The split second of distraction cost Harry, however, as his focus wavered from the summoning charm, allowing Voldemort to grasp it.

"Another time, Potter!" Voldemort cackled before Disapparating.

"Fuck!" Harry cursed, dodging an unknown spell from Kreacher. "I would kill you, but you might prove useful. Kreacher, was it? How did the locket come to be here?"

Kreacher glared at Harry, throwing the butcher knife at him, and scowling when Harry dodged. "Kreacher does not answer to filthy blood traitors! Kreacher lives to serve only the Ancient and Noble House of Black!" He threw himself at Harry's neck, hoping to choke him.

Harry growled, ducking underneath the house-elf. _"Incarcerous!"_ The magical ropes bound Kreacher to the wall, where the Black elf glared spitefully at him. "Then would you perhaps answer to Sirius Black?"

"YOU DARE MENTION THAT TRAITOROUS SON OF MINE?!" Mrs. Black screeched.

"Oh shut up you old hag before I burn the portrait you're in. What'd he ever do to you?" Harry asked.

"You've forgotten, James Potter?! It was you who poisoned his mind against our family, who caused him to be a filthy Gryffindor against our tradition of Slytherin!" Mrs. Black spat. "It's because of you he ran off and abandoned our family! I was forced to blast him off the family tapestry!"

Harry turned to leave; he obviously wasn't going to get any pertinent information, and he wasn't about to kill Kreacher if he could prove useful to Sirius later. _Although, where are my friends? How come they didn't show up? We could've had that Horcrux! _

Exiting the house, he discovered to his surprise that his friends were standing outside. "What the hell? Why didn't you come after me?" Harry demanded.

"There's some sort of ward preventing us from entering," Daphne yelled back.

Harry frowned. _I should've seen that coming… was it Voldemort who cast it? No, he didn't have the time during our fight. _

_:Perhaps it was a pre-existing ward?: _Quetz suggested.

_Doubtful. How did Voldemort and I get in then? _

Quetz gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. _:According to Remus, Regulus Black was a Death Eater, and his family except Sirius were supporters. It may very well be that Regulus was required to let Voldemort in.: _

_But that still doesn't explain me, _Harry pointed out.

_:I'm unsure about that point, but I suspect it has to do with your connection with Voldemort. Perhaps it carries Voldemort's magical signature and thus allowed you in?: _

Now it was Harry's turn to shrug. Then he frowned. _Could it be, that I too have a piece of Voldemort's soul in me? _"So, what happened in there?" Theo asked from behind the ward, interrupting Harry's musings about the possibilities concerning his scar.

"Battled Voldemort in Wormtail's body, stupid house-elf interrupted our battle and allowed him to escape with Slytherin's locket," Harry summarized succinctly, which immediately brought him to his next revelation. "Shit! He has his Horcrux, which means he'll be transferring to Terra immediately! We have to go after him!"

"But where would he go?" Hermione asked in an almost panicked tone. "It's an entire new world!"

"But he has only two locations," Harry pointed out grimly. " Balamb Garden is out; he'd be killed immediately. The second is Centra Ruins. So that's where we'll go."

"What about the time element you mentioned?" Blaise inquired calmly. "If I recall correctly, you mentioned that because of Odin, the portals to and from Terra will send us not only where we want to be, but _when we need to be_, with the provision that we cannot go backwards through time"

"Yes, so what? We just need to be there before Voldemort does," Harry replied impatiently.

"Ah, but _Voldemort _needs to be there when we are not," Blaise explained. "So he will not get there until we are no longer in a position to confront him."

"He's got a point," Theo added with a frown. His eyes carried a far-away look, and Harry recognized that Cerberus was talking with the young man. "Cerberus would like to add that the portal creation process, while simple for those with access to Terran spells, would be rather difficult using only Earth magic. As a result, Voldemort requires time to prepare."

Harry hesitated, then nodded his head. The temporary portal spell required a combination of magical and non-magical elements in order to punch through the dimensional barriers. As it was, by nature, magical, three of the five elements required – fire, water, electricity, earth and air – had to be magical. Electricity had to be magical, simply because any other combination was off balance. If earth was one of the magical elements, then air was as well, due to being direct opposites and needing to balance. The same applied to fire and water. Simply because it was more convenient, not to mention easier, fire and water were generally used as the magical elements alongside electricity.

Voldemort, in order to activate the portal spell, would need to be able to call upon an _Incendio, _an _Aguamenti_ and some sort of lightning spell that would surround him, and maintain them all at the same time; a difficult feat while being inside Wormtail's body, who Sirius had mentioned was very magically weak compared to Sirius and James. Naturally, then, he would attempt to conserve his energy, especially as he had little idea what could be awaiting him on Terra. The simplest way, and almost undoubtedly the fastest way, was to cast and store the spell for later use within something. For example, charming a candle to ignite upon a word.

"We should use this time to prepare ourselves," Harry announced after a few moments. "We're going back to Terra."

"What?"

Harry turned to his friends, looking at them grimly. "There are some pretty damn powerful Guardian Forces there that, should Voldemort acquire one of them, hell would reign here on Earth. Not only that, but we must make haste and join with Squall's party."

"What? Squall gets to party but we can't?" Theo whined.

Daphne whacked him upside the head, though she appeared to be hiding a smile. "Idiot! He means the group of people with Squall!"

"Then he should have said so!"

Harry growled. "We don't have TIME for this! _Accio Portkey!" _The portkey flew into his hands. "Grab on; we need to alert Severus and Remus to the situation."

Wordlessly, the others did as ordered. Theo was frowning to himself, however. _What's going on? Harry's being a lot colder, and a lot more impatient than usual… though I suppose that's to be expected, seeing as Voldemort just escaped again, this time with one of his Horcruxes… _

_:You've forgotten?: _Cerberus rumbled within Theo's mind. _:Harry is SeeD! A mercenary trained from a young age to be the elite!: _

Theo nodded to himself, touching the Portkey. _Ah, right, for all intents and purposes, Terra is his home, and Voldemort's about to invade. No wonder he's on edge. _

_:Exactly.: _

A heartbeat later, everyone felt a tug on their navel and were unceremoniously transported back to Hogwarts, collapsing upon touchdown. They recovered quickly, however. A quick look around indicated that Severus had apparently left sometime while Harry and the others were gone, leaving Remus to wait for them.

"So, how'd it go?" Remus asked.

Harry scowled. "Voldemort got his Horcrux, Slytherin's locket, and escaped thanks to a deranged portrait ordering around a Black house-elf by the name of Kreacher."

Remus took a moment to absorb the information. "I see. I assume then that you're off to Terra to intercept Voldemort?"

"Close. We're going to Terra for training. With luck, the time discrepancy will give us more time to prepare for Voldemort. He can't use the portal ritual just yet, due to his lack of Terran spells," Harry explained. "We won't be returning for some time."

"Then I'm coming with you!" Remus declared.

"I am afraid you cannot, Professor," Blaise said in his usual calm tone. "You are needed here, not only to keep up your cover, but to alert the populace and teach the students how to defend themselves should we fail."

Remus let loose a growl reminiscent of the werewolf within him, clenching his fists. _I feel so, so useless! I can't even protect Harry! _Repressing the anger, he nodded shortly before giving Harry a look in which he tried to convey his worry. "Be careful."

Harry looked at him, softened slightly and nodded. "You too." Accepting Harry's response with a nod of his own, Remus left the room. Turning to his friends, Harry decided to give them all a shot to back out. "Alright everyone, here is the situation. Voldemort's going to go to Terra in the hopes of regaining a body through collaboration with a Sorceress from the future. The plan is to go to Terra and assist Squall's team with killing the Sorceress, or if that is not possible, to kill Wormtail and destroy Slytherin's locket to banish Voldemort from the world. It will be very hard, and very stressful, and will no doubt take much time. I won't think any less of you should you –"

"Shut up and let's go already!" Theo interrupted. "You said it yourself, time is of the essence!"

"Does _anyone _want to quit?" Harry asked, half hoping his friends would say yes. _They would stay safe here. I can take Voldemort, and I'm sure I could take on Ultimecia with the help of Squall and Zell and Quistis. _

"Not a chance," Daphne said quietly.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us, Harry," Hermione remarked in a very good attempt at cheerfulness.

"…" Blaise was silent, but looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry was simultaneously happy and exasperated with their decisions, but Theo was right; time was of the essence. So, he schooled his expression into a solemn nod. "Let's move! To the Chamber of Secrets!"

They hurried to Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor, aware that if Dumbledore suspected something and tried to stop them, they would be wasting precious time. Myrtle came out of her toilet upon hearing the noise, and brightened when she saw Harry. "Hello, Harry."

"Sorry Myrtle, can't stay this time. Need to go save the world and all that. _Open,"_ Harry hissed at the sink with the snake engraving. It took all of about thirty seconds for the path to open.

"You're going back into the Chamber of Secrets?"

Everyone spun around, to see Ginny Weasley. "Hello, Ginny," Harry greeted.

Ginny looked past Harry to the entrance to the Chamber. "Why are you going into the Chamber?"

"Saving the world again," Harry said nonchalantly. "Sorry, Gin, but I can't let you remember this and report back to Dumbledore…"

"I do NOT report to Dumbledore!" Ginny retorted. "Or at least, not anymore. Hermione can vouch for me!"

Now everyone turned to the slightly bushy-haired witch, who colored under their inspection. "Yes, well, it was like this…"

Flashback

_After the feast where Bolt had publicly become Snape's bonded, Hermione and Ginny found a quiet place to talk. Hermione quickly put up several charms to ensure total privacy, and then turned to Ginny. _

_"I know why you want to talk to me. You want to break away from Dumbledore and support Harry," Hermione said flatly. _

_"What? How did you know?" Ginny asked, dumbfounded. _

_"The same reason we cannot let you join us just yet: you do not know Occlumency. Occlumency is the art of organizing and shielding your mind from Legilimency. Legilimency is, essentially, the art of mind reading. I am a Legilimens, which means I can use Legilimency proficiently, and that is how I knew why you wanted to talk to me," Hermione explained. _

_"So, can you teach me Occlumency?" Ginny requested hopefully. _

_"No." Seeing Ginny's disappointed look, Hermione quickly added on to her previous statement. "However, your brothers, the twins, can." _

_"They're in on this too?!" Ginny exclaimed. _

_"In a manner of speaking." _

_"Fine, I'll go talk to them, and learn Occlumency. Once I have, you'll let me join you guys, right?" _

_Hermione hesitated. "Well, the final decision is up to Harry, but we could use all the help we could get. So, I doubt he'll turn you down. I'll help out every so often, checking on your shields myself." _

End Flashback

"But that was only, what, two days ago?" Daphne asked skeptically.

_Has it really only been two days? _Harry wondered. _It feels like a month has passed… _"Regardless, let us see how much she has progressed." He looked into Ginny's determined, defiant hazel eyes, and pushed lightly with Legilimency, at approximately the level Dumbledore used for casual scans.

Ginny's shields buckled but held. Harry was impressed that she'd come so far in such a short time. However, she would need much stronger shields than that in order to properly protect herself from Dumbledore's mental intrusions. She just needed more time.

However, she would get that time on Terra, since they would not be returning for quite some time. On top of that, Hermione was right; Harry could use all the help he could get. She could also be quite useful, seeing as she and Hermione have been training with Madame Pomfrey for some time now.

_I can almost see it now… There are six of us if Ginny joins, so if we split up into two teams of three, we'll get a lot more done more quickly. _That clinched it. "Alright, you're in. We'll brief you along the way."

"Yes!" Ginny crowed.

"You may not be thinking that when you've heard everything," Harry warned. "Now let's go." Several minutes later, they were in the Chamber of Secrets, walking towards the Inner Chamber, where the portal to Terra lay.

"Alright, I'll give you the abridged version," Harry said casually to Ginny. "When I was five, I was transported to a different dimension, with different magic. I was trained to be a mercenary called SeeD, then discovered my scar connection with Voldemort." Harry was pleased to see Ginny didn't shiver at the name. "I searched for and found a legendary being who gave me the power to create portals across dimensions, and I returned here to Earth to keep Voldemort from following the link to Terra – the other dimension. I was on Terra for nine years total, but due to the discrepancies in the time stream, only six years passed here on Earth. My body's growth was linked to Earth, so I aged slower as well. Any questions?"

Ginny was rather taken aback. Of all the things she expected to hear, this was not it. "You're a mercenary?"

"Of a sort. I'm SeeD, and I take jobs in order to pull in enough money for my home base, known as Garden, to continue. My primary duty, however, is to make sure that beings known as Sorceresses don't go crazy and try to destroy everything. If they do, then my job is to stop them," Harry explained.

"And the scar connection?"

"When the Killing Curse rebounded on me, it left a connection between Voldemort's mind and mine. As such, I can get flashes of his emotions and sometimes watch him when he's feeling murderous, although that's rather painful."

Ginny didn't say anything for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. "You mentioned different magic?"

Harry nodded. "Wands aren't used on Terra, because most people don't have a magical core of their own. Instead, SeeD are given powerful beings known as Guardian Forces. Mine is Quetzalcoatl. You know how a couple of days ago this big yellowish white bird appeared in front of Hogwarts? That's Quetz."

"How does THAT work?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Most of the time, Quetz lives in my mind, acting as a second conscious mind, someone I can bounce ideas off of while he advises me. I can summon him out to do tremendous damage though, if I wanted." Harry informed her. "Anyway, for most, Guardian Forces allow them to take preformed magical spells from monsters, and store them away for future use."

"What? Monsters? Preformed magical spells?"

"Yes, monsters. As in, 'What the hell is that?!' kind monsters, the kind that wants to kill you. The monsters hold within them preformed magical spells, and SeeD can take those spells from them with the aid of a Guardian Force. Then, later, the SeeD can use those spells themselves." They had by now reached the doors blocking the way into the Inner Chamber. "Now, everyone keep their eyes closed. _Open."_

The doors opened slowly with a loud creak. Sanaath, who had been sleeping, woke up and looked at the group. _"Harry?" _

Harry stepped forward. _"Yes, I'm here with my friends, we're about to go to Terra, and we won't be back for a while." _

_"I understand."_ Sanaath slithered away then, apparently back to sleep.

"You can open your eyes now," Harry told the others.

Ginny gasped; she had never seen the portal before, and it was enormous. "What _is _that?" she whispered.

"That's the portal to Terra," Harry answered nonchalantly. "Everyone, go!"

Everyone but Ginny went through without hesitation. Ginny looked back at Harry with slight apprehension. Her mind was being overloaded with information as it was, and now she was about to go to a whole other world! _It's enough to make a woman faint. _

"It's safe," Harry assured her. "Now go on, I'll explain the rest when we get there."

Ginny took a deep breath and stepped through. The transit was very quick, yet for several moments Ginny felt completely weightless. Then, there appeared an opening in the purplish wormhole, and she landed hard on soil. Unused to the sensation, she fell to her knees before looking upwards into the sky.

Harry appeared beside her. "Welcome, Ginny, to Terra. Now, I believe I owe you an explanation."

Odin, who had been riding his horse when he felt Harry's friends enter, appeared in a portal of his own. He blinked, seeing a new member to the team. "Now, who's this, Harry?"

"Ah. Ginny, this is Odin, the Guardian Force of Death. He's the one who taught me how to make portals. Odin, this is Ginny Weasley," Harry introduced.

Ginny paled, even as Odin bent down and kissed her hand in knightly greeting. "A p-p-pleasure," she stuttered.

"The pleasure's all mine," Odin corrected. "Now, what's going on, Harry? Last I heard from you, you were going to keep a low profile to throw Dumbledore off."

"Things have changed," Harry said darkly. "You know that conversation we had? The one where we talked about Time Compression? Voldemort managed to break into my mind and copy the memory. So now he's got the knowledge of how to make a temporary portal, and a plan on how to regain his body."

"Damn!" Odin cursed.

"He what?!" Ginny screeched.

Harry nodded at her. "Yeah, was gonna brief ya on that in a few minutes, but now's as good a time as ever. Just like we've got Voldemort, Terra's got a problematic Sorceress from the future named Ultimecia. Ultimecia plans to compress time and space so she'll gain even more power, plus she'll be practically the only thing that can still live in the Time Compressed world. The plan is to help my friends from this world kill her so Voldemort can't get a body, or if we fail to do that, to kill Wormtail and destroy the object holding Voldemort to this plane of existence to get rid of him for good."

"Speaking of which, I have news, and it's not good," Odin told Harry grimly, and Harry's friends, hearing that, came closer to listen.

Squall had succeeded in liberating Balamb City from the Galbadian forces, but things had gotten very complicated, very quickly. Upon Selphie's request, Squall had directed the Garden to visit Trabia Garden, from which Selphie had originated. They were all shocked to see Trabia in ruins, with most of the population dead, injured or ill.

It was there, in Trabia, that everyone in Squall's group decided that Edea had to be stopped. Directly afterwards, in that same conversation, however, Irvine – the SeeD from Galbadia Garden assigned to snipe Edea during the failed assassination – dropped a few bombshells of his own. He remembered all of his past, as Galbadian SeeD are not in the practice of using Guardian Forces often. It turned out that Irvine had been an orphan living with Squall, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, Seifer, and a mysterious girl named Ellone. Their matron, much to everyone's surprise, was Edea.

Harry himself was unsurprised by this information; he had heard as much from Squall, Zell and Quistis before they began using Guardian Forces. However, he hadn't put together that the Matron Edea was the same as the Sorceress Edea.

Having just realized that same revelation, Squall's party decided to visit the orphanage they had lived at, in the hopes of finding the answers they sought. Much to their surprise, Galbadia Garden was already there, hovering much the same way Balamb Garden did. In the conflict, Rinoa was nearly killed, but was saved by the timely intervention of Squall.

Everyone then rushed down to infiltrate Galbadia Garden from below, and after fighting and gaining Cerberus as an ally –

"WHAT?!" Theo cried. "But how does that work? I've got Cerberus right here!"

Harry sighed; he'd forgotten to explain how that worked. "You've got one of the junction stones for Cerberus. Quite simply, you've got a connection to Cerberus, and so does Squall's group. You can both summon him, just not at the same time."

"Oh."

"Can I continue?" Odin asked impatiently. "Now then…"

After gaining Cerberus as an ally, Squall's party confronted and defeated Seifer before facing Sorceress Edea again. When Edea was finally defeated, magic filled the air and paralyzed everyone, and Rinoa was possessed by Ultimecia, releasing Edea from her control. Rinoa, puppeted by Ultimecia, helped Seifer to escape once more before falling unconscious, refusing to awaken.

With the explanation that Edea was possessed by Ultimecia, Edea quickly became a valuable ally in terms of information. With her help, Squall was able to locate the White SeeD ship, where he found out that Ellone, who was supposed to be protected there, had gone with some people from Esthar – a barren continent to the east, with a very technologically advanced city.

The only way to Esthar is through a train going from Fisherman's Horizon, a small peaceful town near Balamb, so Squall's party brought Rinoa to the station. Edea came as well, wishing to see a certain Doctor Odine, apparently the best expert in the world in Sorceress power. The train, however, took them only to the continent, and the city itself was camouflaged.

This did not stop them, however. Discovering the way into the city, Squall's group took an elevator down to the ground level of the city. There, a car with the Presidential Assistant arrived and brought them all to the Presidential Palace. Edea wished to be free of the threat of Ultimecia's possession forever, and Odine promised his cooperation to that effect. Odine was also granted study of Rinoa for the time being.

"Wait a minute," Harry said suddenly. "This Odine, is he same guy as the one who was studying Ellone's brainwaves in the hopes of creating a way to transfer a consciousness into the past?"

"The one and the same," Odin replied.

Harry scowled. "What?" he friends all asked at once.

"I'm friends with the Esthar president," Harry explained. "His name's Laguna. Ellone's like a daughter to him, but he's been kept so busy with paperwork he simply can't leave."

"You're friends with a _president?!_" Theo gasped.

"Yeah, well, I was looking for information on how to find Odin, and that meant my travels took me just about everywhere on the map, and some places off it," Harry said, trying to shake the sudden awe-filled looks he was receiving. "Can we talk about it later?"

"Yes," Odin replied firmly. "Now, where was I? Oh yes…"

It was soon decided that Rinoa needed to be studied on the Lunar Base, an orbiting base. Squall and one other could go along with her. As Zell wanted to stay on Earth and guard Edea, and Quistis wanted to stay with him, and Irvine was entirely uninterested, Selphie accompanied Squall. As it turned out, Ellone was also on the Lunar Base.

Having had a mental conversation with Ellone the last time Squall had one of the strange dreams, he now knew that Ellone had a mysterious power…

"… one to allow people to view the past," Harry finished. "That's why Odine's studying her brainwaves, that unique power."

Hermione was bug-eyed. "Historians would KILL for that power! No wonder why Odine's making the machine, it could provide the truth to such old questions!"

Harry cleared his throat. "Erm, Hermione? Odine just wants to show off how much of a genius he is."

"Still though, you can't deny how powerful such a machine would be," Ginny thought aloud. "I mean, you could use it for just about anything. Spying on enemy battle plans? Finding those dirty little secrets for blackmailing the current Minister? There's so much potential for ill use…"

Odin's expression turned grim. "Indeed. And it's being used in the future by Ultimecia to send herself back in time to achieve Time Compression. Anyway, back to the story…"

Squall begged her to try to change the past, to save Rinoa from whatever had happened to her during the fight with Ultimecia. However, just as Ellone was about to give in, alarms sounded. Rushing out to the corridor, they were greeted with the sight of a staggering Rinoa with an odd glow that very firmly repelled Squall's attempt to touch her. Rinoa unlocked the first layer of seals that kept the evil Sorceress Adel – an extremely powerful dictator that had been locked away long ago – in her tomb in space, then put on a space suit and ventured into space and finished unlocking the final seals.

"So, Rinoa released Adel," Blaise observed.

Odin nodded. "She did. Ultimecia then possessed Adel, who quite frankly is much more powerful than Edea."

"That's not good," Theo commented.

"No kidding," Ginny and Daphne muttered together.

Harry merely had a hard look in his eyes. He had figured out much more already. _You have much to answer for, Ultimecia. _

In a seemingly incredible coincidence, an event called the Lunar Cry occurred just as Rinoa finished with the seals. The Lunar Cry was quite simply the transfer of monsters from the surface of the moon to Terra, in the form of a wave, funneled into the atmosphere. Rinoa was blasted away, and it became clear that she had been possessed as she comes fully back to herself.

As Squall had quickly realized it was pointless just to watch Rinoa bring Adel back, he worked with Ellone to find the truth of what happened, in the hopes of finding a solution. After viewing memories of Rinoa from several other points of view, they discovered that Rinoa had been a latent Sorceress, and that Ultimecia had jumped from Edea to Rinoa at the moment of her defeat. They presumed, accurately, Ultimecia had once again jumped, this time from Rinoa to Adel.

In the meantime, Rinoa was out in space, detached from the Lunar Base due to the Lunar Cry, and running out of air…

"What?!" Hermione gasped. "Is she alright?

"Yes, she's fine," Odin replied calmly. "Squall, in one of his moments of simultaneous stupidity and enlightenment, realized he couldn't live without her, put on a space suit, and jumped after her as she recalled she had an emergency air supply."

Harry blinked. Once, twice. And then he chuckled. A few moments later, he was laughing very hard. Quetz was no better.

"And just WHAT is so funny?" Daphne demanded.

"Squall was the human ice cube back at Garden!" Harry managed after calming down enough to talk. "And yet he was the first one of us to fall in love! I am going to be teasing him about that for YEARS!"

"I think it's cute," Hermione said sternly. "Leave him alone."

"Moving right along, Squall and Rinoa got insanely lucky," Odin continued. "Squall managed to collide right with Rinoa, which pushed their path just enough to latch onto an abandoned space ship known as the Ragnarok."

Theo whistled. "Damn, how lucky can a guy be?"

"Pretty damn lucky, even more so with something junctioned to your luck stat," Harry replied deadpan.

"Isn't there a potion on Earth that makes you incredibly lucky?" Daphne asked Hermione quizzically.

"Yes, actually. It's called Felix Felicis, and will make you succeed in whatever you try, for as long as the effect lasts," Hermione reported. "There was once a man whose name I can't recall at the moment who constantly drank Felix Felicis, and did extremely well, until he accidentally forgot a dosage and immediately died in an accident."

"Karma at its worst," Blaise commented.

"Yeah," everyone save Odin agreed.

"… Are you all done?" Odin asked.

"For the moment," Theo quipped.

"Good. Because that's where we are right now, Squall and Rinoa are on their way back, and will land in Esthar in a matter of minutes," Odin informed them.

"Wait, how do you know all this?" Ginny asked.

"I asked him to keep an eye on my friends," Harry explained. "Odin's rather good at it."

Odin mock-scowled at him. "If I'm good at keeping you informed, I'm absolutely fantastic at actually _fighting!_"

Harry smirked. "Maybe so, if you'd actually get off your ass more than once a week to get some exercise. Your Zantetsuken may be a one-hit kill, but what if you can't get the shot in?"

"I'm still a match for you!" Odin protested with a slight smirk.

"Name the time and place," Harry challenged.

"Um, guys? Don't we need to go see Squall and Rinoa? And everyone else?" Ginny reminded them.

"Oh, right," Harry backtracked. "Another time, Odin. Maybe after the world's not about to end."

"Right."

Ginny watched in fascination as Harry grew taller and older until he looked like a young adult once more, and then in amazement as Harry performed the portal ritual.

"… to Esthar, Terra!" Harry finished commandingly.

Purple grew from a point right in front of the SeeD, expanding into a circle until it stabilized at approximately 8 feet wide. Harry stepped through without hesitation, and his friends followed him a second later, leaving Odin to watch and wonder how the worlds were going to survive.

Everyone looked around upon arrival, though only Harry knew the place at all. Frowning for a moment, Harry turned to the others. "Follow me. The airstrip is this way."

It wasn't very far, and when they arrived Harry glanced around again. This time, however, a genuine smile crossed his face. Ginny was astonished at the difference it made; she'd seen tight smiles, grim smiles, fake smiles, and smug smirks all on Harry's face at different points in time, but this smile… It was only through a matter of extreme will that Ginny kept her crush from re-emerging. _Whoever gets him will be one lucky girl. _

"Zell! Quistis!" Harry yelled.

Two blond heads whipped around. "HARRY!" they cried in unison back, running over. A mature-looking woman dressed in robes, along with a younger woman in yellow shorts and a t-shirt, and a young man in a light brown trench coat followed, though not as quickly.

Harry laughed aloud as he embraced Zell and Quistis in a three-way hug. "I've missed you guys!"

"Your own fault, dude! You're the one with the portal thing to come visit!" Zell pointed out.

Harry chuckled sheepishly. "Thing is, I kept turning up whenever you weren't around."

"So, who're your companions?" Quistis asked, just as the others arrived.

Harry quickly glanced back at his friends. "I suppose introductions are in order, then." Shortly afterwards, everyone knew everyone else. The girl in yellow, Harry quickly learned, was Selphie, and the man in the trench coat was Irvine. The other woman was Edea, but she quickly explained that she was no longer a Sorceress.

"I accidentally gave my power to Rinoa before she was launched into space," she informed them all. "So, I am no threat." She cocked her head. "Do you hear that?"

Harry blinked. He did indeed; it sounded like… he looked up quickly. "The Ragnarok's landing!"

The Ragnarok was coming very quickly out of the atmosphere, but was slowing down considerably. Seeing it land unharmed, Harry led the others towards the ship, only to be interrupted by a squad of Esthar soldiers coming out of the ship. Harry looked at them with suspicious eyes. _There's something wrong with this picture… _With that thought in mind, he followed the others inside.

Squall was inside, sitting on one of the chairs with his head in his hands. Harry threw out his magical sense, but there was no one else. Suddenly the Esthar soldiers made sense; _they were here for Rinoa. _

"Hey Squall!" Selphie said cheerfully. "Where's Rinoa?"

"Yeah," Zell butted in before Squall could answer. "I mean, she's a Sorceress now! How's she taking it?"

"She's about to be sealed," Squall answered in a dead tone.

"What?!" Quistis gasped.

"Her Sorceress power is too great, she's going to be sealed like Adel was," Squall replied in that same dead tone.

"Squall, snap out of it!" Irvine barked. "Do you WANT her to be sealed?"

"Of course not."

"Then why the hell did you let her go?!" Zell demanded.

"You fool! How could you do this?!" Quistis berated him.

"Squall." The quiet voice suddenly silenced everyone, drawing everyone's attention to Harry. "Now that you know how you really feel for her, are you really going to let her be taken away from you forever? Are you really going to let her be sealed away forever? Are you really ready to commit to that life forever?"

Squall raised his head from his hands, his eyes now blazing with determination. "No, I'm not ready for that. I'll never be ready for that." He stood up. "I'm going to go rescue her. Who's with me?"

The ship lurched into the air, making everyone reach for something to steady themselves with. All eyes turned to Selphie, who was sitting at the controls. She grinned cheekily. "That's what I thought you'd say."

"Take us to the Sorceress Memorial, Selphie," Squall ordered, drawing his gunblade. "Harry? Will you fight at my side?"

Harry drew his own gunblade. "I've got your back, Squall." Everyone else but Ginny drew their own weapons, making her feel somewhat self-conscious.

Harry turned back to his friends. "Squall and I will take care of things down below. I need the rest of you to guard the ship. Esthar soldiers will almost undoubtedly be trying to take our escape from us. Ginny, your magic still works here; don't be afraid to use it if you need."

"Are you sure just the two of you can do it?" Irvine asked doubtfully.

Harry and Squall glanced at each other, sharing a smirk. "We're sure," Squall answered. "Harry's more powerful than all of us. If he went all out, he could kill us all and destroy the area for miles."

Harry tipped an imaginary hat to him. "True. You've gotten stronger as well."

"We're there!" Selphie yelled out. "Opening side door!"

Harry and Squall jumped out, and shared another smirk when they saw they were surrounded by Esthar soldiers.

Selphie pulled the Ragnarok back a bit before opening all the doors so everyone could watch. "Stand back and watch the fireworks," Zell told everyone.

"You ready?" Squall asked.

"I've been itching for a good fight," Harry replied, adrenaline already rushing through his veins.

"Let's go!" they cried in unison, launching out in opposite directions, gunblades flashing in the sunlight. Blood flew through the air as their opponents failed to match their speed, but even so, overwhelming numbers forced Harry and Squall back-to-back once more.

"Limit Break time?" Harry suggested, feeling the energy surge.

"Sounds good," Squall agreed, feeling that same energy.

They leapt up at the same time, clasping their gunblades with both hands and aiming straight down in unison. They landed side by side, kneeling on one knee as they plunged their gunblades into the ground, releasing their pent-up energy.

"TWIN CIRCLES OF FATE!" they roared. The ground glowed bright red, and then a pillar of burning light erupted around Harry and Squall, encompassing everything and everyone within thirty meters of them. When the light faded, only Harry and Squall remained. The ground was littered by charred corpses.

"Whoa," Selphie muttered. "Remind me never to piss them off." Everyone else nodded fervently.

Squall and Harry, no longer having an opponent to fight, turned – again in unison – towards the very thick steel door blocking their way. There was an access panel, so if they needed, Zell could handle it….

"I've got it," Harry said, drawing his wand.

"What's that?"

"You'll see. _REDUCTO!" _

A beam of bright red light launched out from the holly and phoenix feather wand, striking the steel door. A split second later, KABOOM! Shrap metal flew in all directions. A few pieces narrowly missed Squall's head, where he would have received a matching scar to the one Seifer had given him. When the smoke cleared, there was no door.

"COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST USED ALOHOMORA?!" Hermione screeched.

"WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?!" Harry bellowed back.

Hermione hung her head. "Stupid boys and their explosions…"

Theo merely laughed, and even Blaise appeared to be hiding a smirk. When Hermione glanced at him, he quickly forced a straight face. Ginny was laughing quietly, remembering Fred and George. Squall and his party, however, were gaping with jaws wide open.

"I've never heard of Reducto," Squall muttered to Harry quietly.

"You wouldn't. It's not of your world's magic," Harry replied, just as quietly. "Now go save Rinoa. This is your party, not mine."

Without a second thought, or a glance back, Squall took off. It was evident he had something junctioned to his speed stat, because he was going at least three times his normal top speed. About a minute and a half later, Squall walked back out, holding to his chest a girl dressed in blue with long, raven-hued hair. Harry guessed this was Rinoa.

Suddenly, two Esthar ships flew in and hovered, dropping off several more squads of soldiers. Harry's eyes narrowed. "Squall. Get her to the ship. I've got these guys." Squall glanced at him, nodded, and ran towards the ship as fast as he could manage cradling Rinoa. _Quetz? _

_:On my way!: _

Harry tossed his gunblade into the air, not bothering to look as it spun around. He caught it and planted it firmly into the ground, raising his arms into the air, palms open. "Quetzalcoatl!" Directly above, storm clouds were gathering at an alarming rate. A few seconds later, they were enormous thunderclouds, and an enormous pillar of lightning flashed down beside Harry. When the lightning dissipated, Quetzalcoatl was there, fully formed and ready for combat.

"Do you really want to take us on?!" Harry bellowed. A large man ran forward from the side, and then in front of the group. Harry blinked, recognizing him. "Ward!" Ward nodded, then gestured for him to go to the Ragnarok. Harry nodded in return. "Thanks. Quetz?"

Quetzalcoatl flew back into the stormclouds, which dissipated a few seconds later. Harry calmly ran over to the Ragnarok and hopped inside.

"Harry! You. Are. So. Cool!" Theo said excitedly.

Daphne smacked him upside the head. "How can you say that?! Harry killed people out there! He and Squall decimated a lot of people!" She sounded a little traumatized.

"It's part of being SeeD," Zell told them, for once with a deadly serious look.

"We are mercenaries. Sometimes, we have to do unpleasant things," Irvine added with a grimace.

"Besides, it was them or us, and we weren't going to leave Rinoa behind," Harry put in. "I may not like the fact that I've taken lives today, especially since they were just doing their job, but they knew when they took that job that there was a very real risk of death. The same goes for SeeD. And the same goes for Aurors and Hit-Wizards on Earth."

Hermione and Ginny, who had been looking a little green, looked a bit better after that. Blaise was his normal stoic self. Daphne appeared unhappy, but less so than before. Theo had calmed down, realizing the true horror of what had happened.

"Selphie!" Squall called out. "Take us to the orphanage!"

"Aye-aye, captain!" Selphie replied with a mock-pirate accent.

Harry sat down to contemplate his next move. _Theo and I already have Guardian Forces. Do the others really need them? _The more he thought about it, the less he saw the point of having the rest of his friends acquire a Guardian Force. _They'll never catch up with me or truly trained SeeD. Not in time to face the Sorceress. _

_:They do need protection, however,: _Quetz reminded him. _:And you can't always be there.: _

_No… but you can_, Harry replied with dawning realization.

_:What?: _

_Quetz… you've been my dear friend for many, many years now. You've helped me through every tough decision I've had to make, through every difficult fight, through Dumbledore's Memory Charms… I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to do one more thing for me. I need you to leave me and allow one of my friends to be your partner for a while. I need you to protect them. _

_:…are you sure?: _

_I'm positive. I can take care of myself, you know. _

_:If you insist on doing this… I would prefer to be Ginny's partner. She will be the one most in need of protection and guidance for quite some time.: _

_This isn't goodbye forever, you know. We'll work together again eventually. _

_:I dearly hope so. Until then!: _

_Until then. _Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. A yellow jewel with a lightning bolt carved into it emerged from his hand, and he gripped it tightly. _I am going to miss you, my friend. _"Ginny?"

"Yeah?" the redhead asked, noting Harry's stiff posture.

"C'mere for a second."

Ginny sat down opposite Harry. "What's up?"

"There's something I want to give you." Harry took Ginny's right hand and placed Quetz's jewel within. "What you're holding is a junction stone for the being you just saw me summon. His name is Quetzalcoatl, and he will protect you and those close to you."

Ginny looked down at the jewel and then back up at Harry. "Why are you giving him to me?"

"I am a SeeD," Harry replied quietly. "I've lived on Terra for eight years; I know what to expect, and how to handle it. I mean no offense, but you know very little. Not all the monsters here are affected by magic, and while I'm sure you're creative, you are no match for many of the beasts you'll find on Terra. Quetz will protect you when you need him, and I'm counting on you to protect the others if they need it, ok?"

Ginny swallowed hard and nodded. "How do I summon him?"

Harry looked pointedly at the stone. "Concentrate on absorbing the stone. Quetzalcoatl will appear in your mind. When you need him, ask him to come out. Since you haven't worked together before, it will take a minute, and you'll find yourself unable to move while summoning him. Don't worry, that's natural."

Ginny's face contorted into an expression of deep concentration. The stone appeared to melt into her hand, until it was absorbed. She gasped, latching onto Harry's arm. "I can feel him, in my head!" she whispered frantically.

"That's normal," Harry assured her. "He means no harm. He'll even help you build up your Occlumency shields. I'll give you some time to get to know each other."

Harry got up and joined Quistis near the helm. "That was a very sefless thing you just did," she murmured.

"She needed Quetzalcoatl's protection, and I can manage on my own," Harry answered just as quietly. "Besides, I can junction my spells without the use of a Guardian Force, remember?"

"… You're going to miss him, aren't you?"

Harry nodded. "He's been there with me for so long… my head feels so empty, sounds so quiet."

"Well, best thing to do then is find something productive that needs to happen, and do it."

Harry frowned pensively. _The pressing problem is Voldemort. I can't take a portal to Riddle Manor and confront him now, because Wormtail can still Apparate, which doesn't take as long as creating a portal, and I wouldn't know where he would Apparate to. Meaning that it would be rather pointless to attack him directly. Right, Quetz? _

There was silence, and Harry kicked himself mentally. _Quetz isn't with you anymore, Potter! Snap out of it! Since I can't attack Voldemort directly, I need to go indirectly. If I can convince all the Guardian Forces not to join with Voldemort, then I will have struck a very strong blow for our side. There are many different Guardian Forces out there, but I think most of them are already gathered here with us. _A couple of quick questions to Quistis and Zell, Harry nodded. _Yeah. Between us all, we have Quetzalcoatl, Ifrit, Shiva, Carbuncle, Brothers, Cerberus, Pandemona, Leviathan, Alexander, Siren and Diablos. I've also learned of the existence of Hydra, the Guardian Force of Snakes. _

Harry glanced down at his hand, where the Mark of Hydra, that mark that granted him superiority over other Parselmouths, was magically hidden. _So, who's left? There's Cactuar, but he's not exactly strong or respect-inducing. Tonberry? Even weaker. Eden? Incredibly strong, definitely one that Voldemort would want, but Eden, according to what I remember from my lessons, very rarely allows himself to be found, let alone junctioned. However, the last one… _Harry knew Voldemort would be after this particular Guardian Force, once he knew it existed. One of the strongest Guardian Forces in existence, a truly fearsome sight to behold, and eager to spread his reputation…

_Bahamut, King of Dragons._

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Yep! Harry's going solo for a while, but we finally get to see the one, the only, the big guy, BAHAMUT! My personal favorite Guardian Force//Summon/Aeon through all of the Final Fantasies I've played.

Next chapter will be out when it gets out. Hopefully it won't be another month. Read and Review please! Oh, and for those people who wanted to see the message I have for those who've read Deathly Hallows...

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Excuse me while I gloat for a moment...

I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!

Who predicted that Severus was under some sort of vow thing for Dumbledore? WHO predicted that Severus had a thing for Lily?

That's right, ME! ... alright, I'll admit, some other people thought of it before I did... but I was much closer than all the other ones I've seen before! So ha, take that!

Yeah, I just wanted to gloat, and see if anyone else noticed that my story information has a ton of similarities with the information given in Deathly Hallows.

My girlfriend called it a bit creepy, said that I must've been inside JKR's head for a while. I find it flattering to think that I think a bit similarly to her.

OK, enough self-congratulating, time to work on the next chapter. Until then! Read and Review, please!


	7. Of Dragons and Power

NeoRyu777 here, with a new chapter!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while; full time job, full time college, plus a wonderful girlfriend... haven't had much time to myself. And, sadly, this chapter is about 5 pages less than normal.

So, to summarize what's happened so far in Worldly Prisoners: Pettigrew was discovered by Harry early in the year thanks to the teenage imprints of Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail on the Marauder's Map, and Sirius escaped. Remus then joined his group and discovered Voldemort's secret to immortality: Horcruxes.

Dumbledore attempted to gain credit with Harry by helping him become an Animagus, but discovered that Harry had beaten his Memory Charm AGAIN. Harry messed with everyone's heads by transforming into Bolt the Storm Phoenix and pretending to be Severus Snape's familiar, training with Fawkes to learn the abilities of the Storm Phoenix. Fawkes in the meantime broke his connection with Dumbledore.

Voldemort discovered he could use Legilimency over the magical connection between himself and Harry, and utilized it while Harry was sleeping to steal a memory of Harry using the portal ritual, accidentally discovering an alternate way to regain his body through Time Compression. Harry called an emergency meeting, and used his blossoming Phoenix magic to find Voldemort's location.

Harry and Voldemort faced off briefly at Grimmauld Place, where Kreacher gave Voldemort Slytherin's locket, which housed a piece of Voldemort's soul. Voldemort escaped, and Harry brought his friends to Terra to train to take down Voldemort before he could reach Sorceress Ultimecia and work with her to regain his body through Time Compression.

On Terra, Harry knocked some sense into Squall, who was about to let Rinoa, a new Sorceress, be sealed forever. Together, they rescued her. On the way to the Orphanage, Harry has come to a decision: he must keep Voldemort from gaining a powerful Guardian Force, and the major one that comes to mind is Bahamut. And this is where we stand.

Chapter 7: Of Dragons and Power

Now that Harry had decided on a course of action, he needed to decide if he wanted to go find and likely fight Bahamut alone, or with friends. He glanced at his friends from Earth and shook his head subtly. _They are nowhere near strong enough to take on Bahamut. Ifrit or Shiva, perhaps, but not Bahamut. To take them with me would be to invite their deaths. _

Harry frowned. _However… it would be very unwise to go it alone. I don't want to limit my growth in wizarding magic, so I can't use anything above Beginner level spells. Since that would be essentially useless, I would be limited to my skills with the gunblade, and the spells I know with my wand. Do I have any Earth spells that would be effective against a dragon? _

After briefly checking his spell list mentally, he shook his head. _No, I do not. However, I could find out from Snape relatively quickly. Or… I wonder… _"Hermione?"

The bushy-haired brunette looked up from her quiet conversation with Blaise, hearing her name. "Yeah?" Harry gestured that she come over. Hermione glanced at Blaise, who waved her on. She sat down opposite Harry. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry looked at her seriously. "Do you know any spells that are effective against dragons?"

Hermione stared at Harry incredulously. "Why do you need to know?"

"A dragon's hide is hard to pierce, even here, and they are magically resistant," Harry explained. "We may be coming up against them in the near future, and if we knew the spells it would make our lives much easier."

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, if I recall correctly from the dragon books we read back in first year to help with Norbert, a dragon's weak point is its eyes."

"That's true here as well. One of the fastest ways to kill a dragon is to stick a sword up its eye," Harry agreed, having done that very act himself, albeit on a rather small dragon about twice his size.

Hermione's frown deepened. "The book warned against using the Conjunctivitus Curse on a dragon you were trying to raise, as the pain will enrage it, and the dragon would attack everything in its path."

"Sounds like the Conjunctivitus Curse is what we need to know then. Do you know the spell?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "It's a simple jab movement with the incantation _Conjunctiva Inflammare." _

"What about the Flame-Freezing Charm?" Harry asked, vaguely recalling writing an essay for History of Magic involving some witch and her judicious use of the Flame-Freezing Charm to avoid the witch burnings of the previous century. "Would that protect against a dragon's fire?"

Hermione shook her head. "Dragonfire is just too strong, too full of magic."

Harry smirked then. "In that case, my junctions will protect me… just leave any dragons we find to me, alright?"

Hermione nodded before looking at him piercingly. _What're you up to, Harry? We're here to train, we should get a chance to fight too. _She stood up and walked back over to Blaise, who looked at her questioningly.

"Harry wanted to know if there were any spells to fight dragons with," she explained.

"And?"

"I told him about the Conjunctivitis Curse, which targets the eyes, a dragon's weakpoint."

Blaise frowned pensively. "Hm. I wonder what he's up to?"

Hermione nodded. "I thought the same. He's traveled all over Terra, he probably already knew how to fight dragons, but he wanted to know how to do it with Earth spells…"

"It sounds as though he's preparing to fight one," Blaise mused.

Hermione frowned. "True, especially after we consider that he's rather reluctant to use his Terran spells due to their harmful effects on his growth of Earth magic."

"Did Harry say anything else?"

"Yeah. He mentioned to leave dragons to him, as his junctions would protect him from dragonfire."

Blaise blinked. "That makes little sense. If we're trying to become stronger through battling, then fighting dragons along with him would give us necessary experience."

"I agree."

"Unless…" Blaise looked into Hermione's eyes. "He mentioned that there were very powerful Guardian Forces here. Perhaps one of them is a very powerful dragon?"

Zell, who had overheard the last comment, came over. "Yeah, there is. His name is Bahamut, and he's the King of Dragons. Very powerful. Very prideful too, the way I hear it. He only lets those who can face him in combat and win junction him."

Hermione's eyes widened, recalling Harry's comment from on Earth, after Voldemort had gotten his Horcrux.

Flashback

_Harry turned to his friends, looking at them grimly. "There are some pretty damn powerful Guardian Forces there that, should Voldemort acquire one of them, hell would reign here on Earth. Not only that, but we must make haste and join with Squall's party." _

End Flashback

Blaise looked at Hermione, realizing the same thing. "Harry is likely considering finding and conquering Bahamut," he murmured.

"We should stop him!" Hermione whispered fervently. "Or at least go with him!"

Blaise shook his head. "We aren't strong enough. You saw Harry out there; he can take care of himself, and he doesn't need to worry about us while fighting a dragon. He will go, and we could not stop him even if we wanted to."

"_We _may not be strong enough, but Squall and his group sure are," Hermione argued. "We can at least try to get Harry to take them along."

Zell, who was still hanging around, shook his head. "If Harry's gonna go after Bahamut, Bahamut's toast. Harry's incredible! Did you know people called him the Teaching Warrior back at the SeeD Academy? He was THAT good, and still had the patience to help us out. It's been years since then, and from the looks of it, he's only gotten better. I wonder if he's grabbed any Ultima yet…"

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Ultima's the most powerful spell we know," Zell informed her with a shrug. "Since Harry's magic doubles his stock every so often, and his max is a thousand of every kind of spell… you get the idea. Thing is, having even one _hundred _Ultima is a huge stress on the body, having a _thousand _could tear it to pieces. I'm just curious if Harry's found a way around that."

Blaise nodded. "He has… He's found a way to shunt the excess into an alternate container until he's ready to handle them."

Hermione was still worried about Harry, however. "But Harry won't use anything above his Beginner spells right now, because Terran spells interfere with his growth in our magic!"

Zell frowned. "That could be a problem…" He then brightened. "What am I talking about? Harry's the greatest! If we had had him with us he could've killed Sorceress Ultimecia in no time!"

"Except, Ultimecia's in the future. You would've only ended up killing her host for this time, in this case it would've been Edea, correct?" Blaise pointed out.

Zell's face fell. "Yeah… how're we supposed to battle someone in the future when we're in the present?"

"You'd have to either travel to the future, which none of us knows how to do, or…" Hermione turned to Blaise with a horrified look.

"Or compress time to bring the future to the present, and face her directly," Blaise confirmed.

"No way!" Zell yelled, bringing all attention on him. "In order for us to face Ultimecia, we have to LET her do this Time Compression thing?!"

Harry's eyes burned with anger. "How do you figure?" he asked coolly.

Hermione stood up and nodded. "Her body's in the future, and it's rather hard to kill her when she's possessing someone else. In order to kill her body and keep her from possessing anyone else using that machine that Odine's working on, we have to let her compress time itself so she can bring the future to us."

"Why can't we just destroy the machine then? That way she never gets to use it!" Theo proposed. The other SeeD glanced at each other, seeming to like the idea.

Harry sighed. "I wish it was that simple."

Hermione nodded tiredly. "We can't do that; it would cause a huge paradox! Theo, if you were to destroy the machine so Ultimecia can't use it in the future, then we wouldn't be under the threat of Ultimecia performing Time Compression, and you wouldn't destroy the machine to begin with! Horrible things happen to wizards and witches who mess with time! Some people have accidentally gone back and gotten killed by their future selves!"

"Let me guess, you did the research when you got the Time Turner?' Daphne asked exasperatedly.

Hermione looked at her, slightly affronted. "Well, of course! I wanted to know the dangers!"

"Wait," Squall said with a frown. "Are you saying you have a device to turn back time?"

Harry and his friends exchanged glances, only just remembering they weren't alone. Then they all looked at Harry, who sighed and turned to Squall. "Yes."

"Is it possible to use it to go forward in time?" Quistis inquired.

"No," Hermione piped up, pulling the Time Turner out from underneath her shirt. "Only to go back, into the past. As a result, when you go back in time, you can't return to the present any other way but living until your past self uses the Time Turner."

Squall was looking at the Time Turner very intensely, Harry noted. "I wouldn't do any time traveling if I were you, Hermione," Harry warned her. "Time travel is dangerous enough without adding the variable of a different dimension. That uses a magic not native to this world, and the effects of using it could be disastrous."

"Wait a minute, different dimension?" Irvine asked disbelievingly.

Daphne stared at him. "You're ok with futuristic Sorceresses using a machine that hasn't been built yet to possess the Sorceresses of today, but you don't believe in alternate dimensions?"

"No," Irvine said flatly. "Sorceresses I've been trained about; you can actually see them, see the effects they've had on the world."

Harry smirked. "Then let me enlighten you." Drawing his wand, he pointed it in a random direction, drawing on a happy memory. "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Prongs emerged from his wand, and everyone but Harry and Ginny – who hadn't been there during the Pettigrew interrogation in the Shrieking Shack – was shocked to see that Quetz didn't follow. Prongs galloped once around the group, and trotted over to Harry, who put a hand on his head before Prongs vanished.

"Convinced?" Harry asked, and without waiting for a response, flicked his wand at a teacup, which shuddered and changed into a dagger. He picked it up and in a single fluid motion threw it into the frame of the doorway, where the point dug deep enough to keep the dagger from falling.

The SeeD and Rinoa were agape, staring at Harry as if afraid that if they blinked, he'd disappear. Harry smirked again. "I am from another dimension, where people can cast magic without drawing it from monsters. Where people can create new spells, where people can change one thing to another and back again. Where people can even turn into animals." With that, he transformed into Bolt, spreading his wings and flying once around the room.

When he transformed back, Irvine sighed. "Alright, I admit it, you're from another dimension."

"Good." Harry took a deep breath and sighed. "I hate to admit it, but Hermione's right. We do indeed have to undergo Time Compression to defeat Ultimecia. However… we cannot let Voldemort get close to her."

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" Quistis wondered.

Zell snapped his fingers. "Hey, wasn't Voldemort that guy that you had to go back to your dimension in order to keep from coming here?"

Squall's eyes widened. "You're right!" He spun around and grabbed Harry's shoulders. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Harry's eyes narrowed, glaring into Squall's piercingly. "Let me go," he said dangerously, fighting the urge to summon his magic and blast him away. Everyone felt the air suddenly grow heavy with something… primal, and full of power.

Squall let go. But he still looked at Harry accusingly. "What is going on, Harry?" he demanded. "We deserve to know that much!"

Harry sighed, and suddenly the air felt much more peaceful again. "Voldemort has the power to read minds, and he managed to circumvent my efforts to block him out. He found out how to create portals, and he's either here now or soon will be. Currently, he's possessing one of his followers' bodies. If he allies with the Sorceress, he will gain his power back, and we'll have not one but two very powerful enemies."

"How strong is this Voldemort character?" Irvine asked.

Harry turned his grim face to the gunslinging SeeD. "You saw for yourself what kind of magic we can do. That was only the beginning, the first few levels of learning, and even then it wasn't destructively natured. Voldemort and his followers were able to bring our society to its knees with sheer power. Right now, he's relatively weak, only able to use the magic from the person he's possessing, but if he gains his body back… I honestly don't know who would win, him or me."

The silence was heavy as everyone contemplated that knowledge and came to the same conclusion: _If Harry is unsure if he could win, none of us stands a chance one on one. _The native Terrans turned to Squall.

"What's the plan, man?" Zell asked flatly.

Squall looked Harry in the eye. "That rather depends on Harry here. Voldemort's presence changes everything, and only Harry knows the entire situation. So, Teaching Warrior, enlighten us. What do we do?"

_Squall's rather sarcastic today, _Harry noted. _Then again, I can't really blame him. His day went from bad to worse as Rinoa released Adel, and then still worse when they almost sealed her, and now I've reported even worse news about Voldemort. But, now what? _Harry thought for several moments. "Squall, you and the rest of your party regroup at the Orphanage. Hermione, Blaise, Daphne, Theo, you're going with them. You'll be training against the monsters outside the orphanage. They should be no match for your teamwork. Theo, if things get out of hand, I'm counting on you to use Cerberus to give everyone the boost they need to survive."

"What about me?" Ginny asked quietly.

"You've got a rather important job of your own," Harry informed her. "You've got Quetzalcoatl, who's been my partner for all these years." Everyone gasped at that. "You're going to train over at Balamb Garden, and they'll give you a crash course on combat. But you'll also be there to protect them. If Balamb Garden is attacked while we're gone, we'll be counting on you summoning Quetz to protect everyone."

Ginny gave him a short nod. "Got it."

"What about you?" Quistis pointed out.

Harry's lips twisted into a ghost of a smirk. "I'm going to make sure Voldemort won't get any support from the most powerful Guardian Forces. Between us, we have everyone in common knowledge except Phoenix, Eden, Cactuar, Tonberry and Bahamut. As Cactuar and Tonberry are rather useless in most cases, and Phoenix doesn't help those with malicious intent, that leaves Eden and Bahamut."

"Who are both in the same general area," a new voice announced from the shadows near the back of the ship.

Everyone but Harry jumped. "Odin," he greeted. "I've been expecting you."

"Harry," Odin nodded. He was without his horse at the moment, but his hand was still on his sword. "Must you get into trouble everywhere you go?"

"Yes," Harry replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You mentioned Bahamut and Eden are in the same area?"

Odin nodded. "We were apparently thinking along the same lines. After appraising Eden of the situation, he appeared most disgusted with Voldemort and agreed not to aid him. Bahamut, however, merely states that he'll help whoever is strong enough to defeat him in combat, be it you, or Voldemort."

"So? Where is he? I need to kick his ass before Voldemort grows the balls to try himself," Harry managed to say with a straight face.

There was silence. _3… 2… 1… _Theo snorted. That was apparently the trigger, and everyone began to laugh. Even Rinoa, who had been very quiet, trying to adjust to all the new changes in her life, giggled. Not even Blaise, who prided himself on his always-cool exterior, could hide a snigger.

After recovering from his hilarity, Odin faced Harry again. "Bahamut's, heh heh, in the Deep Sea –" He chuckled again. "– Research Center." OK, maybe he hadn't fully recovered.

Harry, getting the information he needed, calmed down almost instantly using his Occlumency. "I'll face him in the morning once I'm rested."

"Harry."

"Yes, Squall?"

Squall appeared to fighting to keep his normal expressionless face. "Bahamut is extremely powerful. You should take a few of us with you to help you out. What if you get hurt and need healing?"

Harry opened his mouth to say "I'll use Curaga" but then hesitated; _I can't use my Advanced Level spells without severe consequences to my magical growth. Fuck. _"Good point. Even so, your party still needs to stay together and visible, or else people will wonder what's going on." He frowned. _That leaves Theo, Blaise, Hermione, Ginny and Daphne. Hermione and Ginny have been training as medi-witches under Pomfrey, so they're strong candidates. Then again, using Cure doesn't take much skill. _He nodded to himself, ignoring the confused looks he garnered from the others. _I'll have everyone draw their maximum of Cure, and have them continually heal me when I get hurt fighting Bahamut. _

"Everyone from Earth, you're with me," Harry suddenly said aloud. "We're going to get you some experience and Cure spells, and then we're going to go kick Bahamut's ass. Now, if I recall correctly, the easiest place go grab some of those is in the fields where Balamb Garden used to be stationed." Quistis nodded. "Right then. Odin, mind opening a portal real quick?"

Odin merely waved a hand, and the purplish wormhole appeared. Harry walked through, quickly followed by Ginny, Hermione, Daphne, Theo and Blaise. Landing in the fields Harry described, they were almost immediately surrounded. "Orders?" Blaise asked in a low voice.

"Kill all but that one," Harry dictated, pointing at a monster he knew carried Cure spells.

"Got it. Daphne, care for a contest?"

Daphne smirked. "Whoever kills more wins. Ready?"

"Set."

"GO!" they cried in unison, speeding off in opposite directions. Daphne ducked underneath a monster's swipe and jabbed her dagger into the monster, pulling it out with difficulty.

"Damn, monster hide is tough!" she commented.

"Get used to it," Harry told her calmly, not moving from his spot, slicing whatever monster dared approach him. "It's only gonna get tougher."

Blaise had targeted a rather large caterpillar-like monster, and hefted his double-headed axe. Running towards the monster, he managed to avoid some sort of web attack fired at him and used both strong arms to swing the mighty axe onto the creature's head with a battle cry. The monster was instantly killed, and faded away shortly afterwards. "Huh?"

"Monsters fade away after being killed," Harry informed him, effortlessly parrying another attack. He even sounded bored. "No one knows why, they just do."

Hermione was standing near Harry, flicking her whip to and fro, lashing all her enemies mercilessly. Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Theo!"

Theo was surrounded by six monsters looking at him hungrily. He smirked in a way that Harry recognized quite well; it was the knowing smirk of the hunter when he's captured his prey. Theo extended his arms to either side of him, with his blades extended fully from his wrists. He then ran at the nearest monster and began to dance around, spinning without end, slashing all the monsters quickly without letting them near him. The monsters disappeared a few seconds later, and Theo brought himself to a stop, stumbling. "Whoa, I'm dizzy."

"Well, duh!" Ginny pointed out, standing next to Hermione, shooting hex after hex at the monsters. She seemed to favor _Diffindo_, Harry noticed, as well as the Bat-Bogey Curse. "When you spin around like that, you're gonna be dizzy!" She quickly shot a well-aimed Cutting Hex at a monster approaching Theo, making a deep slice into its neck. The beast roared, but before it could do anything, Blaise used his axe to finish the job, slicing into and through the neck.

"Be more careful, Theo," Blaise admonished with a smile, offering him a hand up. Theo retracted his blades and took hold, pulling himself up.

"Thanks."

Finally, it was down to just the one monster Harry had pointed out before. Harry stepped forward, his sword drawn. "I'll distract it. You all need to reach out for the magic within the monster, and pull it towards yourself."

Everyone lowered their weapons, and tried to reach out as Harry had described. There were frowns on everyone's faces as they concentrated. Meanwhile, Harry used his gunblade to block every attempt of the monster's to strike him. Then several bluish white orbs of light flew out of the monster. Harry chanced a glance backwards, just in time to see Ginny and Theo absorb those orbs of light. Blocking for another few minutes, Harry finally finished off the monster, and turned to his friends. Ginny and Theo had been the only ones to be able to draw magic from the monster. _Why? _

"What happened?" Harry asked Hermione, Daphne and Blaise. "Why didn't you draw?"

"We tried," Hermione protested.

"We could sense the magic, but we could not pull it towards ourselves," Blaise clarified.

Daphne nodded. "It was like the magic was far too slippery, we couldn't grasp it."

"That's weird," Theo commented. "To me it was like the magic was drawn to me anyway."

Ginny nodded in agreement. Then her eyes unfocused slightly. _She's talking to Quetz, _Harry recognized with a pang of jealousy. _Relax, Potter! _he reprimanded himself. _YOU gave HER Quetz so he can protect her. _

"Quetzalcoatl says that my magical core is too specialized in Earth magic to work easily with Terran magic," Ginny reported. "He also says that we have to use Guardian Forces to draw and cast Terran magic, just like any other Terran would have to."

Harry cursed aloud. "Damn it! There goes that idea."

"So, now what's the plan?" Theo asked.

Harry thought quickly. "I can handle Bahamut on my own. From the sounds of it, you all should stick around the Orphanage and train. Fight the monsters, grow stronger. I'll return soon enough."

"Why can't we fight with you?!" Ginny demanded.

"You are not strong enough. None of you. I can't fight and worry about you at the same time!" Harry replied heatedly. "That's why I gave you Quetz, because I know that he can protect you from all the normal monsters you'll find out here! Now I expect you to follow my orders in this world, because I am the only one of us who actually grew up here on Terra! I know the dangers, the risks!" Harry took a few deep breaths, re-establishing his calm demeanor. "I appreciate the offers to help, but I am trying to protect you here from someone who is way out of your league, someone you will _die _if you face him."

"Alright, Harry," Hermione said quietly.

"We shall do as you ask," Blaise added, just as quietly. Daphne merely nodded, though she did not look happy. Theo looked almost angry – an extremely rare occurrence, Harry noted – but he calmed himself enough to nod in acceptance.

Harry sighed. "Thanks. Here, I'll set up a portal to the Orphanage." A minute later, everyone save Harry and Ginny had stepped through.

"Be safe," Ginny told him quietly.

"I will. Keep everyone else safe."

"I will." With that, Ginny stepped through, and the portal closed.

Harry sighed deeply. _"Well, my friend, it's time to face Bahamut." _

Seth roused from his slumber in Harry's arm. _"Are you sure you're ready?" _

_"As sure as I'll ever be," _Harry assured him.

Seth paused. _"I won't be of much use against him," _he admitted. _"I'm rather small compared to a dragon. And Bahamut's scales will be much too tough for me to bite through." _

_"Don't worry about it. You can stay right where you are," _Harry told him. _"Here goes." _Performing the portal ritual once more, Harry stepped through onto a rocky shore, where he noticed the artificial cave. _That must be it. _

Harry walked inside and paused, observing his surroundings. The Deep Sea Research Facility looked to have been long abandoned, but all the computers still had lights flashing, signaling a continued activity. There was a structure in the middle of the room, glowing blue through the glass. It was impossible to see what was inside, but Harry was willing to wager a guess that Bahamut was there.

Harry was about to take a step when the blue light intensified and filled the room. Harry froze, while quickly glancing everywhere to see if he had set off a trap. "The blue light leads all to death," a dark menacing voice said.

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?" There was silence. "Typical… I suppose I should wait to see if the blue light fades any." Almost as soon as he had finished that sentence, the blue light indeed faded so the room no longer shone blue. Harry blinked. "Okay… that was unexpected."

He took a few steps towards the structure he suspected held Bahamut, and jumped back when the structure started to glow brighter again. Harry's eyes narrowed. _So, the blue light appears and disappears every few seconds. It obviously has some ill effect if I get caught in it. I could try to dash across while the light is down, but… _Harry eyed the heavy equipment scattered across the floor, much of it having extremely pointy, sharp places. _Can't dash across that without hurting, perhaps crippling myself. Jumping is out of the question; it takes too much time. _

Harry's eyes caught sight of a small path clear of debris. It was a bit roundabout, however, and there was no way Harry could make it across quick enough to avoid the blue light, even with his best junctions. _Speaking of which, I almost forgot. _Focusing hard, Harry spent a few minutes putting on junctions. _Let's see, with a thousand of each spell… Reflect for my elemental defense should allow me to negate all damage from elemental attacks… Esuna for my status defense will keep me from getting poisoned or petrified or any other weird extra effect Bahamut's attacks could make. Triple for my speed, of course. Full-Life for my health. I'll use the Ultima I've got for my physical strength. I'm gonna need it to pierce Bahamut's hide. Hm, I'll use Holy for my endurance. _

_Now, for attacks… Bahamut's immune to status attacks as a Guardian Force. For elemental attacks… I don't know. I'll go with an Ice element first, and if that doesn't work I'll try Fire. So, Blizzaga onto elemental attack. There, I'm done. Boy am I glad junctioning spells doesn't count as casting them, so I'm not hindering my progress in Earth spells. _

Harry sighed. "Now that I've got junctions, I've just got to get to that thing sending the blue light. Since there's no way I can make that without getting hit with that light, I'm just gonna have to risk it." He waited, and just as the light had died down, he took off at a run. _1…2…3! _Like clockwork, the blue light brightened again.

When the light hit Harry, a dark chuckle echoed off the walls as the light suddenly coalesced and changed colors right in front of Harry, blocking his path. Harry blinked. "… wow." Right in front of him was a dragon, about 15 feet tall and 40 feet long, and red as a ruby. It was on all fours, and quite muscular. "A Ruby Dragon, eh? Now I get why the blue light was the bringer of death," Harry commented aloud, drawing his gunblade.

The dragon roared and took a deep breath. Harry smirked, recognizing the action. It was drawing on its fire attack. He now drew his wand in his left hand and aimed. "_Conjunctiva Inflammare!_"

The bolt of light flew true and struck the dragon right between the eyes, and now its roar was full of pain. Abandoning its fire attack, the Ruby Dragon charged at Harry with speeds enhanced by rage. Anyone, including most SeeD, would have had no choice but to brace for impact from the enraged powerhouse.

However… despite the speed of the extremely powerful Ruby Dragon, Harry was still faster. He jumped up right as the dragon would have gored him, and plunged his gunblade directly into the dragon's neck, severing the spinal column. The Ruby Dragon collapsed, dead. Harry calmly got off, and then ran towards the structure that probably held Bahamut. _After all, who knows when that blue light will return! Come to think of it, it should have appeared during that fight… _

A blue glow from behind surprised him, and the dead Ruby Dragon dissipated into blue light, which rejoined the structure that emitted the blue pulse to begin with. _Oh. Well, damn. _Harry only just managed to make it to the structure before a blue light could begin again.

**"So, you wish to challenge me?" **the voice from before asked amusedly.

"I'd rather not have to, but I must," Harry replied.

**"Why is that?" **

"I must protect my loved ones, so I must enlist your support before my nemesis does."

The unseen being laughed darkly. **"Begging me for mercy, then? There is no way you alone can defeat me." **

Harry scoffed aloud. "You'll find I'm more than a match for you, Bahamut."

**"Bold words, human."** Bahamut's tone was now more dangerous than before.

"I've got the strength to back it up," Harry responded in kind.

**"Let us see about that!"** The blue light pulsed brightly, and when it faded, a huge black dragon with teeth as long as Harry's body was on all fours, its scales gleaming. Bahamut roared mightily, and flapped hard with its wings, taking flight.

The wingbeats left powerful winds pushing at Harry, but Harry merely narrowed his eyes as he leveled his wand. "_Conjunctiva Inflammare!_" he bellowed.

Bahamut pushed harder with one wing than the other, pushing himself out of the way of the spell. **"Is that all you've got, human?! Allow me to show you true might!"** An orb of energy began swirling in Bahamut's mouth, colors shifting as it grew larger and more powerful. **Mega Flare!"**

A huge laser-like beam shot out at Harry with lightning-quick speed. Knowing instinctively he would not survive that attack if it hit, Harry leapt to one side, only narrowing avoiding the destructive blast. _Looks like Flare's not a spell to work with, _he decided. _Any ideas? _A moment later he mentally shook himself; Quetz was not with him anymore, and he had to rely on himself now. _I'll never win if I only dodge, _Harry knew. _I have to attack, and my Beginner level spells won't do anything… unless I charge them through my wand! _

Harry focused hard, and aimed with the accuracy earned through much practice in that room at Hogwarts. "Blizzard!"

Bahamut laughed. **"Such low level spells, you must be weak if that's the – " **Bahamut shut up as an extremely large spear of ice launched itself at his head. He was shocked, but even so the great dragon had enough presence of mind to temporarily halt its wingbeats so fall right below the would-be lethal attack… just in time to get hit right in the eyes by a Conjunctivitis Curse.

Bahamut roared with pain as he fell to the ground. Shaking his head and pushing his own magic forward to counter the spell attacking his eyes, he looked at his opponent with a bit more respect. _Interesting… he has a spell that attacks a dragon's weak spot… and a way to enhance the power of Beginner level spells… but that's not enough to stop ME! _Bahamut laughed arrogantly. **"How lucky of you to land a hit." **

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Harry replied with a smirk, folding his arms – and secretly putting his wand away so it wouldn't be broken in the upcoming battle. "You were just too stupid and arrogant to think I might put in a follow-up spell to the logical place you'd fall to, considering I aimed that Blizzard spell in such a way it'd be easiest for you to dodge by falling. So much for the King of Dragons."

Now THAT pissed Bahamut off. If there was anything that Bahamut hated more than admitting he was wrong, it was being insulted by a human… especially when that human had a point, wearing that damnable arrogant, self-assured smirk! He roared his fury and lunged forward, intent on eating the foolish human.

Harry's smirk broadened; his attempt to infuriate Bahamut to the point of making foolish mistakes appeared to be working. He waited until the dragon was almost able to strike him with his claws, and then dashed forward. The unexpected move made Bahamut stop and try to swipe him, but Harry had been too fast, and was now under the dragon's belly.

Harry's chuckle only made Bahamut angrier, even as the dragon knew that he was in trouble; his stomach was perhaps the second most vulnerable spot on his body, second only to his eyes. Everywhere else across his body were scales that were harder than diamond, but his belly was softer. Not by too much, but enough, perhaps, to make a difference.

Harry slashed upwards with his gunblade, and was gratified to see and feel it dig into the dragon, despite the heavy resistance. Bahamut roared again, and jumped up and back. Harry had expected this. What he had NOT expected, however, was for one of Bahamut's front claws to swipe at his back so viciously.

Hissing in pain, Harry knew he wouldn't last long if he allowed the wounds to bleed. _Cure! Cure! Cure! Cure! _Harry chanted as he ran at Bahamut once more. Each step was easier as the wounds healed under the multiple Cure spells Harry called on.

Bahamut was no fool, however, and the pain the brat had inflicted on him helped him focus, instead of making him angry. **"I underestimated you… a mistake I shall not make again! Mega Flare!" **

This time, Harry was at nearly point-blank range; there was no chance he could dodge. He could only block… or die. Time seemed to slow down as Harry saw his own destruction bear down on him. _Shell and Reflect don't work on Flare, they certainly wouldn't on Mega Flare. I have to put all my hope on this! _Faster than the eye could see, Harry drew his wand and flicked it strongly in front of him. "_PROTEGO!_" Harry screamed, pouring as much of his own magic into the magical shield as he could. An enormous, nearly opaque blue shield popped into existence just as the Mega Flare struck.

Fortunately for Harry, the _Protego _spell had been designed mostly for non-elemental spells, like the Disarming Spell and the Stunner. Mega Flare, as it turned out, was a non-elemental attack, instead of a combined Fire-Ice-Thunder elemental attack like the normal Flare. Bahamut had altered the attack to be non-elemental so it could wipe out just about anyone; after all, it wouldn't do to have the King of Dragons' best attack be nullified by immunity to an element.

Even with the advantage the Shield Charm had against non-elemental spells, it was a struggle to keep it up against the onslaught of Bahamut's furious attack. Harry fell to one knee, his insides burning as he forced his magical pathways to expand to handle the great quantities of magic he was calling forth. With a lower surface area to cover, the shield's power was increased, but even so Harry could feel the shield flickering. _Is this it? Is this my limit? I was foolish, and overconfident… how could I have thought I could take on a Guardian Force on my own?! _

Shame filled the Boy-Who-Lived. _I let my fame and strength get to me… I thought I could handle anything anyone threw at me…hell, I thought I was better than Odin, the Guardian Force of Death! _Harry lowered his head, and then caught sight of the tattoo that held Seth within his skin. _No, I must not give up. I have friends counting on me being able to return! _

With determination born of desperation, Harry called on even more of his magic, gritting his teeth against the now more intense burning. "I… will… not… die here!" Harry cried. He tensed his legs, and jumped into the air, his shield only just surviving until he escaped the blast.

Bahamut, who been pouring most of his own magic into the attack, was unable to see due to the blinding glare of the Mega Flare. He had, however felt the magical resistance faltering, and then it was gone. He smiled wickedly and stopped releasing his Mega Flare. **"You were a strong opponent, but not strong enough to defeat me," **Bahamut commented offhandly, slowly turning around.

"Oh yeah?!" Harry cried on his way down, feeling that familiar energy of a Limit Break fill him as he fell head first at his opponent, his blade glowing as he held it with both hands.

Bahamut looked up incredulously at where the SeeD was plunging directly at him. **_That annoying insect isn't dead yet?! _**Then he noticed that there was no chance to dodge, and his magic was mostly depleted from the extended Mega Flare. **_Still though, I have enough for fire! _**A deep breath later, he breathed scorching dragonfire at his opponent.

Harry smirked, and unleashed his Limit Break. "Winds of Power!" He stabbed at the air several dozen times at different points on the mighty dragon, so fast that it was merely a blur. But with every stab, a purple jet of light speared Bahamut at the point Harry had stabbed at.

Bahamut roared with pain, but was cut short as Harry landed on his neck and dug his sword into it. The gunblade wasn't sharp enough or long enough to cut off Bahamut's neck, but when angled straight down, with the acceleration of the fall, Harry had been able to puncture the scales around the neck and pierce the spinal cord, rendering Bahamut paralyzed.

Bahamut collapsed, no longer able to stand on all fours. "I win," Harry said simply.

**"How?! How could this happen?!" **

"You underestimated me. Again," Harry replied with a smirk, trying valiantly to ignore the immense pain he was in; using that much magic before had left his body burning on the inside, and landing from that high jump had jarred his legs. If he hadn't junctioned Ultima onto his strength, they would have likely shattered.

Bahamut growled. **"I… concede my defeat. I offer my strength to you." **

Harry jumped off Bahamut and turned around to look him in the eyes. "I accept."

Bahamut began to fade before bursting into a shower of black sparkles. On the floor, where he had been just moments before, was a stone the color of obsidian, with the engraving of a dragon. Harry picked it up and hesitated. _If I do this… am I betraying Quetz? _After a few moments' thought, he shook his head. _No. He'll understand. Besides, Bahamut's power will prove a useful addition to our assets. _He focused on absorbing the stone, and it merged into his skin.

A roar echoed throughout his head, causing Harry to wince at the new headache. **_:Your memories are blocked from me!: _**

_So what? _

**_:I would see what kind of person I have bonded myself to!: _**

Harry mentally clamped down on Bahamut. _You will see as we go on together. My memories are quite personal, thank you very much! _

A growl. **_:What, then, is your goal?: _**

_To destroy Voldemort, once and for all, and protect my friends. _

**_:Is this Voldemort… strong?: _**

_Very. He has even managed to cheat death itself by dividing his soul into seven pieces. Right now he's trying to regain a body as his old one was destroyed 12 years ago. _

**_:A strong opponent indeed. By helping you destroy him, I will increase my own reputation greatly,: _**Bahamut mused. **_:How does he plan on regaining a body?: _**

_By aiding the Sorceress Ultimecia in achieving Time Compression to merge his past body with his present mind. _

**_:Time Compression?!: _**Bahamut boomed, causing Harry to wince again. **_:She cannot be allowed to finish it! Kill her!: _**

_Slight problem. She's in the future, using a machine to send her consciousness here to the present. We can't kill her unless she achieves Time Compression, _Harry explained.

Bahamut gave a distinct feeling of being restless. **_:Fine, but she will die as soon as she finishes it!: _**

_That was the plan anyway, Bahamut. Now, to portal to the Orphanage… _

**_:You know how to create portals?!: _**Bahamut asked incredulously.

Harry was getting really tired of Bahamut's loudness. _Yes, I do, _he answered curtly. _And quiet the fuck down. You're giving me a migraine! _Bahamut huffed and became silent. "Finally," Harry muttered lowly. He took a deep breath, ignoring the continuing burning feeling throughout his body, and performed the portal ritual.

He arrived at the Orphanage, found a nice place to rest under a tree near the building, and promptly fell asleep, exhausted, both physically and magically. He would need some time to recover, and Harry hoped Voldemort wouldn't cross over during that time.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Voldemort took control of Wormtail's body once more. Wormtail had gotten all the materials necessary, and under Voldemort's instruction had cast the spells that would enable him to cast the portal ritual. Voldemort had been living in the back of Wormtail's now-bald head much as he had in Quirrel's, and made sure Wormtail made no mistake.

Voldemort looked around and inspected the preparations. "Let's see," he murmured. "Candle that will light with magical flame on one side? Check. Bowl charmed to conjure water upon command on the other side? Check. Robes charmed to magically produce electricity? Check." An evil smile formed on Wormtail's face, courtesy of Voldemort. "It is time, Wormtail. Are you looking forward to it?"

_… yes… my Lord… _Wormtail managed mentally; the repeated possessions were extremely taxing on his psyche.

Voldemort's smile grew. "Now then…" He gathered himself up and stood in the middle of the circle of blood he had had Wormtail apply to the floor. "Earth below me, water and fire beside me" – the bowl was suddenly full of water, and the candle suddenly lit with a fire far too large for any normal candle – "earth below me, air above me, lightning around me," the Dark Lord intoned, his excitement rising as he felt the magic begin to respond. "Let these elements of power unite, and form a portal from Riddle Mansion, Earth to Centra Ruins, Terra!" A purplish wormhole spiraled open from a point right in front of him, and with an evil smirk of anticipation, he stepped through.

Landing right where he had envisioned – by the large permanent portal he had seen from Potter's memory – Voldemort looked around, still gleeful with success. _I did it! _he crowed. _I have crossed the barriers between dimensions! Now, to find that Sorceress… _"_Point me_ Sorceress from the future!"

Pettigrew's wand spun around in his hand, before pointing in a direction to Voldemort's right. Smiling cruelly, Voldemort looked in that direction, ensuring that Slytherin's locket was still around his neck, and then Disapparated.

Harry awoke with a gasp, his hand flying up to feel his burning scar. _No! _

**_:What in the name of God was that about? That was no normal nightmare!: _**Bahamut demanded.

_It is as I feared… Voldemort, the one I told you about, has finally crossed over to this dimension, right as I am weakest and unable to immediately stop him. _

Bahamut snorted. **_:That could not have possibly been Voldemort. He is short, balding, and probably quite slow. You could kill him in your sleep! You LIED to me!: _**

_Bahamut, SHUT UP! _Harry roared into his mind. Surprisingly, Bahamut shut up. _Now, you are going to listen and listen good! I occasionally have visions of Voldemort due to a link between us through my lightning scar. Voldemort has the power to take over other people's bodies. He's using one of his followers as a host in order to cast magic and locate Ultimecia. We need to stop him before he can make contact with Ultimecia. Understood? _

**_:Understood,: _**Bahamut responded sullenly.

_Good. _Harry attempted to move, only to wince again as adrenaline faded away, letting pain make itself be known. Regardless, he slowly shifted into a sitting position; somehow he'd ended up flat on his back… _in a bed? I must've been too preoccupied with Voldemort to take in my surroundings…_Now that Harry looked around, he saw that he was in a rather Spartan room; he was on a bed, and there was a desk, a chair and a door, all made of wood from what he could tell. There was a window to his right, though, and he could smell the sea.

_I'm probably still at the Orphanage then, _Harry thought to himself. _My friends must've found me and put me here. So, Bahamut, how's it look? _

**_:Just what are you talking about, boy?: _**

Harry's temper flashed. _NEVER call me that, or I will destroy your mind so completely and utterly that you will forever be the laughingstock of all of humanity, reduced to drooling mindlessly, unresponsive to any outside stimuli, and the WEAKEST of all Guardians! _

Bahamut scoffed. **_:Like you could, BOY!: _**

Harry growled, and turned his Legilimency skills inwards, on that malevolent presence in his mind. He felt Bahamut stiffen; he could obviously feel Harry starting to enter his mind, but from the ease with which Harry was entering, Bahamut had no Occlumency shields.

Harry smirked. _You focus too much on raw strength, King of Dragons. Your mind is so… vulnerable. It would be too easy to just… _Harry pushed his Legilimency probes deeper, feeling for the pain center, and nudged it.

Bahamut's roar of pain and fear echoed in his mind, and he reached out to respond in kind to Harry's mind, only to find himself unable to do anything, chained down by Harry's force of will. _This is MY mind! _Harry boomed mentally. _Here, I AM GOD! When you are in it, you will follow the rules I set, got it? _

**_:You wouldn't,: _**Bahamut growled. **_:You need me!: _**

_No, I only need to keep your power out of Voldemort's hands, _Harry corrected viciously. _Now, we can do this two ways. One, we can work together, or two, I can leave you a vegetable. I would prefer the first, but provoke me far enough and I WILL do the second. Get it?_ Harry nudged the pain center bit harder this time.

Bahamut was obviously in pain when he replied. **_:Got it.: _**

_Good. _Harry relaxed, releasing Bahamut, but not without shielding his mind further, and setting a mental condition to wake him if Bahamut tried anything. _Now, back to the original question. How badly did I damage my magical pathways during our face-off? _

**_:And just how would I know, b – Potter? For one thing, you cut off my access to just about EVERYTHING about you! I don't know what they used to be like because I can't access your memories and I don't have any prior experience to them myself, and I can't inspect your magical pathways right now because even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how!: _**

_What? You don't know how? _Harry repeated, surprised.

**_:That's right, I don't. Why should I know, I've never interested myself in how to inspect your frail human bodies!: _**

Harry frowned. _Hmm, looks like it's up to me. Asking Quetz would have been easier… _

**_:Quetz?: _**Bahamut interrupted smugly. **_:That wouldn't be short for Quetzalcoatl now would it?: _**

_Yes, it does. He was my companion Guardian Force for the past several years. Now leave me be, I need to think. _Harry slammed up another shield between his thoughts and Bahamut, cutting off Bahamut's indignant protests. _Now, where was I? Oh, right. My pathways… They felt like they were on fire during the fight. They still hurt, not as much, but certainly enough to keep me from doing anything magic-intense for a while. _

Harry's frown deepened as recognized the hollow, empty feeling of being magically exhausted. It wasn't as bad as it had been the previous night, but it would take some time to be up to 100 again. _Well, it was unavoidable I suppose. I had to really overcharge that Shield Charm to counter Bahamut's Terra Flare, and it had to hold up for more than just a few moments. _

Harry closed his eyes. _Damn it, Voldemort's out and about, while I can't stop him. I may be healed physically, but my magical pathways need time. As a result, moving hurts, and my strength is sapped. _Harry frowned. _I wonder… would an Elixir help? _He thought about it for several moments, then shook his head. _I doubt it. An Elixir works on healing the body, and for all I know, it might restore my reserves… but my magical pathways are spiritual in nature, I would imagine. Physically, there's no difference between wizards and Muggles, or Muggles would have discovered us long ago by testing Muggleborn children. The difference MUST be spiritual, which means that none of my Terran potions will help. _

Harry sighed and summoned his strength. "I _refuse _to just lie down and wait while Voldemort is on the loose," he muttered, before swinging his legs off the bed and onto the floor. His body protested, but it was nowhere near as bad as when he'd fought Bahamut, so he gritted his teeth and stood up.

_Whoa… _Groaning, Harry's vision faded to black quickly as he felt very woozy. Lying back down, his sight returned quickly enough. _OK, that was not normal. I seriously do not feel well. _Now that he thought of it, he was feeling rather… _hot. _Burning, even. All over his body. _Do I have a fever or something? Shit. Of all the fucking times to get sick, it HAD to be now! Figures that Voldemort would get to Terra right when I can't fucking move. _

Harry mentally went over his list of potions from his Item Bag. _Potions, Hi-Potions, Mega-Potions, Antidotes, Elixirs, Mega-Elixirs, Softs, Eye drops, Remedies… Wait, that's it! Maybe a Remedy can cure a fever! It works on most other ailments… now where's my wand?_ Harry glanced around, and then noticed his holly and phoenix feather wand on the desk… just far enough that he couldn't get to it from his bed.

"Damn it," Harry muttered. "Might as well give wandless magic a shot…" Focusing hard, he got his magic to circulate through his magical pathways, which immediately began burning in hot, sharp pain. He hadn't even begun to focus his intent when the magic shaped itself, and NOT in the familiar way of a Summoning charm. Harry's eyes widened; his magic was acting outside of his intent! "Fuck!" Harry brought his mighty will to bear, trying to push back the magic, but while the magic slowed, it did not stop. To Harry's growing horror, the magic he'd gathered reached into his reserves and pulled out a much larger amount of magic. _This is going to HURT. _

A second later, screams echoed throughout the orphanage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you think? Harry needed to be shown he wasn't immortal, and very nearly died thanks to Bahamut. And yes, I know his personality seems to have changed when Bahamut was pushing his buttons, but that's just it; he was pushing Harry's buttons, when he was tired and in pain. If you don't get just how much Bahamut was asking for it, imagine purposely irritating a woman on her period. You just don't do it unless you have a death wish.

What's happening to Harry? Is the fever just a fever? Just what was the magic doing? Perhaps more importantly, HOW was it working against Harry? Find out next chapter!

Read and Review! Tell me how I did! I always write better with feedback, so feel free to praise or flame me as you so choose.


	8. Time Compression

NeoRyu777 here, with a new chapter!

Thanks for the many, many reviews! Now, because of some questions concerning just WHY Harry puts up with Dumbledore's meddling...

_Why does Harry stay at Hogwarts? Doesn't he know about other magical schools?  
_At the moment, he does not. I don't believe I'm put anywhere that Harry learned about Beauxbatons or Durmstrang or anywhere else.

_Alright, that explains the Hogwarts bit, but why hasn't he killed Dumbledore yet?  
_Dumbledore has way too much influence over the Wizarding World, even greater than the reputation of the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry knows that fame is a fickle mistress, so if he killed Dumbledore now, he would immediately be ostracized and no one would believe his story. The only way to take Dumbledore down would be to have him under Veritaserum, confessing to several life-sentence worthy crimes, and the only way to even force the Ministry into trying him would be irrefutable evidence.

Additionally, Harry doesn't particularly like killing, if you'll look back at A World of Difference. If there is another way out, he'll probably take it.

_Dumbledore has been trying to control Harry for THREE YEARS now, and refuses to let up! Surely it would be easier to just have Harry run away like he did from the Dursleys!  
_Run where? To Terra? Duty was preventing him before Voldemort discovered the way there. He didn't want Voldemort to follow the scar connection, as it's a rather mysterious magical bond. Run to somewhere else on Earth? Dumbledore would track him with the Locator Ritual, and he'd have to keep moving, constantly, and keep fighting. No, the darkest place to hide is right underneath the lighthouse. By staying at Hogwarts, Dumbledore believes he's in control, which gives Harry a little bit of freedom, so long as he pretends to be Dumbledore's faithful follower. Now, if he'd KNOWN about Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, he might have gone there instead, where Dumbledore's reign of influence has little meaning.

Also, one of Harry's goals in life is to protect his friends, regardless of the consequences. So he'll stick around and try to be available for them whenever he can. Best place for that is Hogwarts. 1) Earth friends are right there. 2) Terran friends are just a hop, skip and a portal away.

_What's the point of Harry having a thousand of each spell, with a core that multiplies them, if he's not going to use them?  
_Well, part of it was to illustrate that he was different from the Terrans he lived with. A second part was to force his hand and provide a good reason to become an Animagus. A third part is to put him on par with Sorceress-level power, as they have infinite of every spell, and that's essentially what Harry has. And trust me, Harry's going to be using them soon.

_Well, in the game, you can just get rid of stocked magic. Why didn't Harry do that?  
_In my fic, things work just a bit differently. Harry can't get rid of stocked magic through any other way but casting them, and at the point where he learned it would be a problem, he had about of hundred of each Ultimate spell. Can you imagine him unleashing all of his Ultima, Holy, and Flare spells in any area? He could destroy a good portion of the Earth if he wasn't careful! No, the best way was to become an Animagus and shunt some spells onto that form.

Hope that answered a few questions! Now, I'm making a tradition here: because I take a long time between updates, I shall be summarizing what happened in every new chapter.

So, to summarize what's happened so far in Worldly Prisoners: Pettigrew was discovered by Harry early in the year thanks to the teenage imprints of Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail on the Marauder's Map, and Sirius escaped. Remus then joined his group and discovered Voldemort's secret to immortality: Horcruxes.

Dumbledore attempted to gain credit with Harry by helping him become an Animagus, but discovered that Harry had beaten his Memory Charm AGAIN. Harry messed with everyone's heads by transforming into Bolt the Storm Phoenix and pretending to be Severus Snape's familiar, training with Fawkes to learn the abilities of the Storm Phoenix. Fawkes in the meantime broke his connection with Dumbledore.

Voldemort discovered he could use Legilimency over the magical connection between himself and Harry, and utilized it while Harry was sleeping to steal a memory of Harry using the portal ritual, accidentally discovering an alternate way to regain his body through Time Compression. Harry called an emergency meeting, and used his blossoming Phoenix magic to find Voldemort's location.

Harry and Voldemort faced off briefly at Grimmauld Place, where Kreacher gave Voldemort Slytherin's locket, which housed a piece of Voldemort's soul. Voldemort escaped, and Harry brought his friends to Terra to train to take down Voldemort before he could reach Sorceress Ultimecia and work with her to regain his body through Time Compression.

On Terra, Harry knocked some sense into Squall, who was about to let Rinoa, a new Sorceress, be sealed forever. Together, they rescued her. On the way to the Orphanage, Harry has come to a decision: he must keep Voldemort from gaining a powerful Guardian Force, and the major one that comes to mind is Bahamut.

Harry gave Quetz to Ginny to protect her, confident in his own skills to defeat the King of Dragons, and left to face off against him after everyone was situated at the Orphanage. He managed to win, barely, but at great cost to himself: his was forced to draw upon his magic so much he has scorched his magical pathways, essentially cutting himself off from being able to use magic without great pain.

Upon waking up in the Orphanage, Harry is quite ill, feverish and unable to stand. Trying to wandlessly summon a Remedy, he accidentally triggered something within his magic, which drew upon an enormous amount of magic, for whatever purpose it was trying to achieve outside of Harry's control, causing Harry great pain in the process.

Now that we're caught up, let's go!

Chapter 8: Time Compression

While Harry was facing Bahamut… "Damn it, I can't just sit and wait!" Ginny exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the bare remains of the orphanage. Squall and Rinoa had gone outside to the beach, while Zell and the rest of the Terrans were back on the Ragnarok, monitoring the radio.

"Well, what else can we do?" Daphne asked bitterly, sitting on the floor against the wall across from Ginny. "Even if we could convince Squall's party to take us to the Deep Sea Research Facility, which I doubt, we'd only get in Harry's way."

Theo sighed from his position leaning against the wall next to Daphne. "No kidding. He's pretty damn powerful… Hell, I think he could take on Dumbledore and win if he needed to."

"Whether he can win against Dumbledore or not is not in question," Blaise reminded them from across the room, sitting on debris. "Harry is indeed quite skilled, both in magic and physically. We must trust in him."

"He'll be fine," Hermione said, assuring herself as much as the others. "I think we just need to occupy ourselves somehow."

"What do you suggest? We're all rather sore from training against those monsters outside," Daphne asked, interested.

"We've been working _physically_ all day," Hermione said pointedly. "How about magically?"

Ginny stopped pacing and looked at Hermione, her eyes lit up. "Why not fix up the orphanage? It'll work on our Transfiguration and Charms skills!"

"Let's make a game of it!" Theo added, inspiration striking. "Let's all work on one room at a time and take turns changing just one thing about the room until we all agree it looks good?"

Daphne got up and dusted herself off. "Sounds good. Who starts?"

They'd finished one room when Ginny stiffened. "What's up, Ginny?" Theo asked concernedly.

Ginny was already running out the door. "Harry's back, but something's wrong!"

The rest of them exchanged glances before running after her. Easily keeping up thanks to their extended training, Hermione decided to ask what was on all their minds. "How do you know?"

"Quetz told me!" Ginny replied between huffs, glancing jealously at the others.  
Everyone seemed at ease with her pace while she was already beginning to breathe hard. "Apparently… huff… Quetz knows… Harry's magical… huff… signature really well. He's close… but the signature… is weak…"

Just then, they saw Harry, leaning back against a tree, unconscious. He appeared physically alright, judging from the lack of battle wounds, but Hermione didn't want to take any risks. "_Mobilicorpus!_" she barked, flicking her wand. Harry's body rose into the air and straightened so it appeared as though he were standing… only a few inches off the ground. "Come on, let's get him back to the orphanage. Guard me just in case any monsters attack."

Ginny, Theo, Daphne and Blaise nodded sharply and got in formation, one person on all sides of her. Thankfully, nothing attacked, and they went into a barren room. Daphne took the initiative and transfigured some rocks into a wooden bed, and Blaise took it a step further, levitating a rather large stone above the bed and with another wand movement, transfigured it into a small mattress. An Engorgement Charm enlarged it to fit the bed Daphne had created.

Hermione nodded in approval, and set Harry down on the bed, gratified to see Harry's weight make an impression in the mattress like it should. Ginny, having had a bit more experience with such charms in a poor family, was able to transfigure some fur left behind by rats into an acceptable blanket. Theo, who was much better at Charms and Potions than Transfiguration, did a partial Engorgement Charm at the head of the bed where Harry's head lay, and the head of the bed enlarged until it supported Harry's neck much better, forming a makeshift pillow.

"We should probably make sure he doesn't break his wand or hurt himself if he rolls over," Ginny pointed out.

"Good idea." Theo carefully used a Hover Charm on Harry before taking off his Item Bag and his wand holster. Then, knowing Harry's paranoia about security, withdrew the wand from the holster to make sure it was alright. "Where should I put these?"

Hermione spotted a slab of wood in the corner and transfigured it into a desk. "Put them here so Harry can see them when he wakes up." Theo did so, and took off the Hover Charm.

Blaise frowned. "I wonder what ails him? Normally, Harry would wake up whenever _anyone _approaches him."

"Let's find out. Ginny?" Hermione and Ginny ran their wands up and down over Harry's unconscious form, both frowning in concentration as their wands lit up in a light green color.

"He's fine physically," Ginny muttered. "No internal bleeding. A little warm, though. He might have a fever."

"I agree… but his magical pathways are very inflamed," Hermione added.

Another sweep of her wand made Ginny's frown deepen. "It looks like Harry's used a hell of a lot of magic recently."

"That would explain the inflamed pathways." Her wand paused over Harry's chest. "He's suffering from extreme magical exhaustion." Ginny and Hermione glanced at each other and nodded, turning around.

"He just needs a lot of rest to recover his magic, and let his pathways heal, and fluids. When he wakes up we should have some water on hand," Ginny concluded. Hermione nodded in silent agreement.

"I'll go ask Edea where to find fresh water; she did run the orphanage way back when, and she would need a lot of fresh water for several kids," Theo reasoned as he quickly walked out.

"It'll probably be a while before he wakes up," Hermione pointed out. "Let's go ahead and finish fixing up the orphanage."

They left, and Hermione transfigured another piece of wood into a door to make sure no one would disturb Harry. A few minutes later, Zell and Theo came rushing over. Zell immediately went out the back door to go find Squall and Rinoa, while Theo rejoined the others.

"What's going on?" Daphne demanded, seeing Theo's strangely serious face.

"Apparently some guy named Kiros just called the Ragnarok, and asked for Squall's party to return to the Presidential Palace in Esthar to discuss how to defeat Ultimecia. He also asked for Harry by name."

"That explains why you look so serious, but what about Zell? He looks almost spooked," Ginny inquired.

Theo turned to her. "Kiros, it seems, is one of the guys Squall's party has been dreaming about when their consciousnesses go back in time."

Silence struck as everyone took in that information. "They'll probably go," Hermione concluded. "To get some answers."

"And obtain allies," Blaise added with a pensive frown. "They will need as much help as they can get to battle a Sorceress from the future on her own turf."

"No kidding," Daphne agreed. "But Kiros asked for Harry too. One of us should go in his stead."

"That would not be a good idea," a voice from behind them spoke up, making them jump and whirl around. It was Quistis. "None of you are SeeD, and would be treated as civilians, and not allowed to hear the war plans. At worst, you could be arrested for trying to spy on the President."

Theo gave her an irritated look. "And just what're you gonna do when you get there without Harry? Say 'Hey, sorry, he's busy recovering from fighting against Bahamut one on one'?"

"He's hurt?!" Quistis cried.

"Not physically, but he'll be in pain for a while until his magical pathways heal," Hermione informed her sternly. "When he wakes, he won't even be able to move without being in an enormous amount of pain; those pathways travel throughout his body, and magic naturally circulates around the body through those pathways."

Ginny picked up where she left off. "Harry summoned an enormous amount of magic, continually, which had the effect of essentially burning his pathways. He'll heal, but it will take time."

"And you can't really explain that to the President without revealing that we're all from another dimension," Daphne added coolly. "Good luck with that."

Quistis looked distinctly like she was being tag-teamed. "Wouldn't any of our potions fix that?"

"Highly doubtful," Blaise answered. "From all appearances, no native Terran, aside from the possible exception of Sorceresses, has these magical pathways developed enough to use magic the way we do. You tend to use Guardian Forces instead, and use your potions to either heal the Guardian Force, or your body. Not your innate magic."

"What about potions from your world?" Quistis questioned.

"And just how would we get there?" Daphne asked sarcastically. "Because if you know, I would _really_ like you to explain it! Only two of us can even _acquire _Terran spells, and neither of them have the control to handle three spells at once, which, might I remind you, is a _necessity _for the portal spell!" Quistis was shrinking back, but Daphne would not let up. "And then, let's think for a moment about getting the proper potion, _if it exists! _The only place we have access to that even _might_ have such a potion is guarded by a woman that seemingly never sleeps, and would require explicit, detailed explanation on why it would be needed! And I'm dead sure none of us have the prowess to brew it ourselves!"

"Daphne, enough," Theo ordered sternly, stunning most everyone. Theo _never _gave orders, let alone to Daphne. "We're worried about Harry too; you don't need to take it out on Quistis. She gets the point, we can't get any potions from our world that could help, and none of the potions on this world will."

Even more surprising than Theo's sudden change in personality, Daphne backed down. "Sorry, Quistis," she muttered in a low voice.

Quistis took a deep breath. "It's alright. I'm worried about Harry too. We'll explain to the President that Harry couldn't make it because he was ensuring the Sorceress could not acquire Bahamut, and he'll be along as soon as he recovers." She turned and walked out, presumably to board the Ragnarok.

Squall came in, talked to Edea for a minute, and then joined the Ragnarok with Rinoa and Zell. A few minutes later, the Ragnarok left, leaving Edea and Headmaster Cid behind. Edea and Cid noticed the Earth party minus Harry take out their wands and start pointing at various objects, usually debris or the odd piece of wood with odd incantations, and were amazed to see the objects change shape and become furniture.

"That's an amazing power you have there," Edea mentioned, approaching the bushy-haired brunette.

Hermione nodded, pointing up at the ceiling, which had cracked in several places, and had many small chips fallen out. "_Reparo._" The cracks disappeared, and the ceiling itself seemed to smooth over, making it seem as though it were brand new. "I count myself very lucky to be a witch. Magic is incredibly useful, but like any tool, it can be misused."

Edea nodded tiredly. "I know that from experience… How's Harry? Has he returned?"

Hermione nodded. "He's unconscious at the moment, recovering from magical exhaustion and burning his magical pathways."

"He'll be alright?"

"With time."

Suddenly, a terrible scream pierced the air, and everyone froze. "HARRY!" Ginny was closest to the door to where Harry had been sleeping, and rushed in, closely followed by everyone else.

Harry was writhing on the bed in pain, and his face was bright, bright red even as he screamed in ungodly pain. Not from embarrassment, though, the group realized as waves of heat rolled over them. There were literal ripples of heat rising from above him, and without warning, the blanket burst into flames.

This sudden change brought Hermione to action. "Get water!" she yelled over the screaming at Cid and Edea, who rushed from the room. "Ginny, Theo, use whatever Ice spells you have as a freezing mist! Daphne, Blaise, get that blanket off of him! We HAVE to cool him down!"

"Blizzard!" Ginny and Theo cried in unison, aiming their wands at the blanket. Their wands shivered and amplified the spell, creating a very strong jet of ice particles, for a moment causing the temperature of the room to plummet. It put out the fire on the blanket long enough for Daphne and Blaise to snatch the blanket – still warm to the touch – and throw it into the corner.

To everyone's horror, now that Harry's clothes had access to air, they too burst into flames. "Blizzard!" The flames receded for a few moments before coming back just as strong as before.

"It's a magical fire!" Hermione shouted, struggling to be heard over Harry's screams. _How long can he scream?! We have to stop him from hurting his voice box! _"_Silencio!_"

"No shit!" Daphne retorted. "Now use that brain of yours and tell us how to stop it!"

"Get him to transform into Bolt!" Theo answered.

"Of course!" Ginny said, understanding washing over her. "He must be going through a Burning Day!"

"But he's a _Storm Phoenix!_ Not a normal Phoenix! Its element is lightning!" Daphne argued as Theo and Ginny cast another Blizzard to keep Harry's clothes from burning up. "Why is he on _fire _then?"

"Lightning causes fires," Hermione reminded her knowledgeably. "I imagine Storm Phoenixes go through Burning Days by having more electricity than their body can handle cause them to burst into flame."

"Save the lesson for later! Harry, listen to me, you HAVE to transform into Bolt!" Theo cried.

After being silenced, Harry could hear every word, though it was a struggle as his mind was overloaded with pain. It was made even harder as Bahamut heard about Harry's Animagus form.

**_:You are a PHOENIX?!: _**

_Shut… up… Bahamut… _

**_:I am the King of Dragons! I will NOT listen to a PHOENIX! You were just trying to bring the Dragons under your rule, weren't you?!: _**

Now Harry's anger was growing, even as the pain heightened. _I… said… SHUT UP! I need to concentrate! _Utilizing his Occlumency techniques to ignore the pain – it would not last long, from the sheer amount of pain he needed to ignore – he focused hard on the Storm Phoenix within, and found that his magic had been waiting for just that.

His body quickly reshaped itself, and suddenly there was no pain, merely extreme warmth as magical electricity danced within him, burning him from the inside out. A moment later, his entire body was aflame, but a few seconds later, all Bolt knew was darkness. And then, there was light, as Bolt emerged from the ashes and opened his eyes. He felt renewed, _reborn. _

Bolt let loose a chirp of content; he was warm, in the ashes of his former self, and there was no pain. _Now then, Bahamut, I will give you the explanation you deserve. I am a wizard, with the ability to transform into my inner animal, which is a Storm Phoenix. I know dragons dislike phoenixes immensely, but I assure you I do not intend to use you to rule over dragons. I was being truthful about needing your power away from Voldemort. I did not want to reveal this just yet, as I didn't want to sour any possible friendship we could have had, but it seems my hand has been forced. _

**_:Hmph. We'll see. I will be watching what you do with my power.: _**

Now that that was settled, Bolt noticed something crucial about his body; his wings were not developed enough to fly yet. Due to his rebirth, his form was a mere baby. _Well, shit. That means I can't go anywhere on my own, not in this form. _

"You ok, Harry?" Theo asked, his voice coming from far above Bolt.

Bolt would have frowned if he had lips to frown with. Focusing hard on his human form, Bolt attempted to revert back to Harry. However, he couldn't seem to get the magic to flow properly. **"Damn it!" **

Apparently the negative tone to his harsh-sounding chirp was enough to answer Theo's question. Ginny crouched down and looked into Bolt's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Bolt used Legilimency and pushed just far enough to start a conversation without reading her every thought. _:A hell of a lot is wrong. I can't transform back yet for some reason. Also, my wings are wet and haven't grown their flight feathers yet, so I can't fly on my own. I don't know how fast I grow, and to top it all off, before I went through the burning and rebirth, I had a vision of Voldemort managing to portal into this world!: _

_:WHAT?!: _Ginny replied.

**_:That is most unfortunate…:_**Quetz added. Bolt's heart warmed, hearing Quetz's voice again.

**_:Hmph, I don't see what's so tough about him,: _**Bahamut huffed.

_:Imagine if he took over Sorceress Ultimecia's mind?: _Bolt pointed out.

Bahamut paused. **_:Fair enough.: _**

_:Anyway, I need to… to be carried for a while until I grow enough to transform back,: _Bolt said, pausing, as he hated admitting weakness. But he had no choice.

_:No problem,: _Ginny answered, gently cupping her hands in front of Bolt, who shakily stood up and hopped into them. _:So, I take it you got Bahamut on our side?: _

_:Nah, that big booming voice you heard from my side of the link was just my alternate, evil personality who just wants to destroy everything,: _Bolt replied with a faint hint of sarcasm.

Ginny blinked before glaring at the bird in her hands. "You don't have to be so sarcastic, you know."

_:I know. I'm just rather irritated, and Bahamut's a big control freak, always upset when he doesn't get his way or is left out of the loop and demanding respect when he hasn't earned it.: _

**_:THAT IS NOT TRUE!: _**Bahamut boomed.

**_:Sounds right,: _**Quetz agreed with Bolt.

**_:TRAITOR!: _**

_:Oh, forgot, he's pretty loud and obnoxious too. Gave me a headache only a few minutes into talking with him after I junctioned him.: _

**_:True, he's always been loud. I imagine it only got worse over time.: _**

**_:I AM NOT… I am NOT loud!: _**

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at how Bolt and Quetz teased Bahamut as she carried the baby Phoenix to the others. The others looked at her strangely. "What's going on?" Hermione asked.

Ginny managed to stifle the next set of giggles. "To summarize, Harry's stuck as a Phoenix until it grows a bit, and he can't fly because his flight feathers haven't grown yet. Voldemort's on Terra, and Bahamut is being teased mercilessly by Quetz and Harry."

"Voldemort's on Terra?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Makes sense," Blaise mused. "Right when Harry is helpless would be the best time for Voldemort to show up. Any idea where he is now?"

_Locate:Currently, he's to the east, getting close to Cactuar Island. Wouldn't it be nice if some random monster killed him?: _Ginny acted as Harry's translator and relayed his projected thoughts.

"While it would be nice, it's unlikely," Hermione said wistfully. "Not with Voldemort's power amplifying Wormtail's, and the Killing Curse."

_:Some monsters are immune to instant Death spells, you know. And there are lots of extremely fast monsters that could make a strike before Voldemort could react.: _

"We can only hope," Blaise answered. "Sadly, it's still unlikely."

"Well, what're we gonna do now? We can't go anywhere without transportation, and Harry's a bit out of order at the moment," Theo pointed out.

"Maybe not," Hermione murmured, pointing her wand. "_Animagus Reverto!" _The spell struck Harry… who did not do anything. "Well, it was worth a shot. So, now what?"

"Not much we CAN do. We don't have a way to travel across the water to Voldemort. We just have to wait until the Ragnarok gets back. In the meantime, we can train," Ginny replied.

_:Right. Can someone transfigure a stand for me? I should go ahead and train my lightning element.: _Hermione did so from some debris she brought in, and Ginny helped Bolt on. _:Er… I also need some leaves, or papers… any chance of that?: _After a quick Summoning spell, and another transfiguration, Bolt had a medium-sized bowl in front of him that held several dozen leaves. _:Thanks.: _

After they left, Bolt gingerly reached out with one talon and took a leaf, barely puncturing it. _Right then. If I recall correctly, Fawkes said that if my lightning element was used, the leaf would be crumpled, and if my wind element was used, it'd be cut. I did some work with wind earlier, so I'll work on lightning. _

Bolt focused on his magic, recalling how electrifying Quetz's magic had felt. He refined his magic over and over again, compressing it, making it smaller and smaller until it was just a single, powerful spark. Every so often, his magic would push and try to become more like cutting wind, refined into a sharp edge, not a piercing point, but Bolt firmly kept it lightning-oriented. Then he pushed it out through his talon, and was gratified to see the leaf crinkle a little. He sighed; getting his magic to that point had taken over a minute. _I'm going to be at this for a while. My control also needs a lot of work; it's HARD to manipulate my magic like this. I wonder what kind of exercises I could do to improve my control? I mean, this is MAGIC! Anything should be possible. _

Focusing again on his magic, pulling and shaping it, Bolt continued his training at lightning elemental magic. A few hours later, Bolt cocked his head; he heard powerful engines approaching quickly. _The Ragnarok! _Realizing he couldn't do anything until someone came in so he could use Legilimency on them, but also knowing that the distraction would keep him from progressing well in the training, he dropped the crinkled leaf he had been using, and focused on Voldemort. _Locate! Hmm, he's at Tear's Point, in the Lunatic Pandora. And Ultimecia? Locate! … fuck, she's in the Lunatic Pandora too! _

It was like a nightmare come true; Voldemort was gonna regain his body, and there was NOTHING Bolt could do about it! He summoned up his magic again, trying desperately to revert back to Harry… _Come on, Potter, focus! _His magic was getting closer… closer to the right form… Bolt focused on the image of his normal human self, and then… he felt the changes begin.

Bolt felt himself grow taller, and he felt muscle, sinew and skin flow up his legs, reforming his talons into feet. Right before he was about to lose balance, he hopped off the stand, his reformed legs catching him with a crouch as the transformation continued. He spread his wings wide as the tips coalesced, becoming his fingers. The feathers melted into them, going from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, like a tattoo before disappearing entirely. Like a wave, it flowed towards his torso, and his wings quickly became arms.

Moving upwards from his legs and inwards from his arms, his abdomen and chest quickly came into being, and then, the last component: the head. The feathers changed texture and became Harry's standard long hair, as his beak melted and shifted into a mouth and a nose. The ears twisted and shaped themselves into human ears, and finally, the transformation was complete.

Harry took a deep breath as he stood up straight, free of pain. _That transformation was incredibly slow, slower than usual… _He felt rather odd, though… very exposed. Glancing down, only his SeeD training kept him from gasping in embarrassment; he was completely naked! _Well, this is inconvenient. _Harry reached out to get his wand to transfigure some clothes when he heard the door being opened. _… damn it! _He snatched the wand off the desk, whipped around and flicked at the door. _"Colloportus!"_ he hissed, which shut and magically locked the door.

_That's only gonna buy me a few seconds, gotta make the most of it! _Harry quickly grabbed his Item Bag, reached inside it and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. He managed to throw it over himself just as he heard Hermione's voice calmly saying _"Alohomora!" _

The door quickly opened, as all of Squall's party, and the rest of Harry's party rushed in, but it was too late; Harry was invisible. There was silence for a moment. "Where's Harry?" Squall finally asked.

"I don't understand, he should be here!" Ginny replied, walking over to the stand where Bolt had been. "He said he couldn't fly yet as his flight feathers hadn't been formed, and he couldn't transform back yet."

Seth awoke then from his slumber within Harry's skin. _"Urgh, what's all that racket? And what the hell happened earlier? It was strange…you were screaming loud enough to wake the dead, and I felt like I was burning alive, and then you transformed into Bolt…" _

_"Shush!" _Harry urged him frantically, quietly.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Theo asked.

"Yeah…" Daphne murmured. "Sounded like a snake."

_"Did I miss something? Why are we hiding from your friends? And why can't they see us?" _Seth inquired.

_"I'll explain later, just quiet!" _

"That was definitely hissing," Selphie agreed cheerfully. "Why? Is there a snake in the room?"

Blaise smirked. "Harry's in the room, just invisible. Probably to play a prank. _Accio Invisibility Cloak!_"

"No!" Harry cried aloud, grabbing his Cloak in both hands, trying desperately to keep it from uncovering him. To his immense gratification, he managed to keep hold of it and still cover his body, but his head was revealed.

"Why are you hiding underneath the cloak?" Hermione asked tiredly. "This is not the time for pranking."

"Um, er, funny story really…" Harry trailed off before clearing his throat. "I heard the Ragnarok arrive, and figured I'd get the latest locations of Voldemort and Ultimecia. Found out that they're both in the Lunatic Pandora. I panicked, and with much effort I managed to transform back. Sadly… let's just say that when I was reborn, my clothes were not."

Ginny blushed, as did Hermione, Rinoa and Quistis. Selphie, Daphne and the guys seemed more amused than anything else.

_"Er, sorry. Didn't realize," _Seth apologized.

_"It's fine… at least I wasn't exposed." _

_"Bet Ginny would have liked that," _Seth teased.

Ginny turned the color of a tomato and tried very desperately to meld into the background with an "EEP!" The others glanced at her in confusion.

Harry glared at Seth. _"… you forgot she can speak Parseltongue." _

Harry hadn't known that a snake could look sheepish, of all things, but indeed Seth was doing a marvelous job at attempting it. _"Eheh, sorry?" _

Rinoa shivered. "That sounds really creepy, by the way."

Zell jerked his head over at Ginny, who was still bright red. "What's with her?"

Harry sighed. "Seth here was an idiot and forgot that she can speak the snake language too, and made a very lewd comment. Can you guys step out and give me a minute to dress?"

They quickly left, and Harry let loose the breath he'd been holding in. Reaching into his Item Bag, he withdrew one of his spare sets of clothes, and quickly dressed. Thankfully, his gunblade and holster had been merged with his skin at the time of his burning, so they had been saved.

Leaving the room for the next one, everyone was sitting on some furniture that Harry wagered was transfigured. "So, what's the plan?"

Quistis straightened up a bit, pushing up her glasses as she prepared to summarize. "As we all know, Ultimecia has the power to possess Sorceresses of our time using the machine that Dr. Odine is working on based on Ellone's brainwaves. Apparently, though, it doesn't reach back far enough for Ultimecia's purposes to pull the past and future together."

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted. "I was under the impression that Ultimecia needed three points of time to achieve Time Compression. Odin told me as much."

"I was wrong." Odin's voice surprised everyone as he stepped out of the next room. "No one has ever achieved Time Compression before, and that was how I thought it would be achieved. Theoretically, Time Compression is bringing the past and future together to become one everlasting present where all times between the past and future exist simultaneously."

"Ellone's power is the key," Squall continued grimly. "We have to kill Sorceress Adel, which will leave only one Sorceress in our time for Ultimecia to possess…"

"You're going to let her possess Rinoa?!" Ginny screeched.

"We don't have a choice!" Squall bellowed back. "Does it look like I'm happy with this?!" Indeed he didn't; he looked haunted, for lack of a better word.

Zell decided to pick up where Squall left off. "Anyway, Rinoa will accept Adel's powers, and Ultimecia will possess Rinoa. From there, Ellone will send Rinoa and Ultimecia back to the past, before Adel was sealed away. Ultimecia will jump into Adel, and start the Time Compression."

"And then, we find and kill her," Harry finished, filling in the blanks.

"Um, I have a question," Hermione said nervously. "Would we even exist in this, Time Compressed world? How do we know we'll survive the transition?"

Selphie grinned. "According to that doctor guy, people exist in the Time Compressed world through sheer force of will, and belief in oneself and others. So, we just gotta believe in each other!"

"Um… how would he know?" Theo asked bluntly.

Zell stepped up. "There's this really long technical explanation… but put shortly, Time Compression will warp our bodies, because every part of time in between Adel and Ultimecia will be drawn in and compressed. So our bodies would normally be in a state of flux, going anywhere from baby-state to decrepitly old. However, we have will, and we know each other and how we _should _look like, which will keep our bodies looking this way."

"Can we get going? Voldemort's already with Ultimecia, and I want to kill him before Time Compression begins," Harry growled. "Hopefully then he won't exist in the Time Compressed world."

"Everyone got the plan? Good. Let's move out!" Squall ordered. "Harry, would you do the honors?"

Harry got up. With a sudden movement, he threw his arms to his sides, seemingly effortlessly summoning a Water, Fire and Thunder spells. "Earth below me, water and fire beside me, air above me, lightning around me… Let these elements of power unite, and form a portal to the Lunatic Pandora!" Harry cried.

A moment later, the purple portal appeared, and everyone readied their weapons as they walked into and through. Harry quickly followed before the portal could dissipate. Everyone was in their battle positions, and in front of them were three figures: a gigantic monster that was vaguely woman-shaped, presumably Adel; Peter Pettigrew, hosting Voldemort; and Seifer Almasy.

Harry stepped forward so he stood beside Squall, drawing his own gunblade. He had never bothered returning to his 17-year-old image, so at the moment he looked 13. He was only just tall enough to be able to use the gunblade "Voldemort! You die today!"

"And what if… today never ends?" Voldemort asked, a grin shaping Wormail's features as he held his wand almost lazily. "Can't you see, Potter? You've already lost! Ultimecia has my Locket, which amplifies her powers, and allows her to summon back my body, from the moment I was forced to vacate it twelve years ago!"

"That's IF she achieves Time Compression before you die!" Harry retorted darkly, double-checking his junctions. _I'm just glad that the rebirth healed my magical pathways; otherwise I would have had to sit this one out. I wonder if I'll be able to cast wizarding magic easier now? I'll have to find out later… _

Harry switched from holding his gunblade with both hands to just using his right, while he drew his wand with his left. Ultimecia raised her eyes, while Voldemort appeared interested. "What are you going to do, Potter? Surely you don't think you can take all of us!"

"What makes you think I have to?" Harry smirked, a plan formulating in his head. He snapped his wand over at Ultimecia, who looked surprised. "_Accio Locket!" _

Suddenly a shimmering shield appeared in front of the Sorceress, preventing the Summoning Charm from taking hold. Ultimecia, in Adel's body, merely looked amused now. "Foolish boy. I am a SORCERESS! Seifer, take care of them!"

"Yes, my liege," Seifer agreed with a smirk, drawing his own gunblade and facing off against Harry. "None of that stupid magic now, let's talk with our blades!"

Seifer rushed at Harry, only to be stopped when Squall dashed in front of Harry. "I'll be your opponent, Seifer!" Squall hissed.

"Ah, if it isn't my old rival, Squall. Alright, I can humor you for a while," Seifer mused cockily.

Harry's eyes were drawn to a new blue shimmer, forming a wall from the floor to the ceiling between Ultimecia and Voldemort. While Squall was taking care of Seifer, Harry rushed at the barrier and slashed at it with his gunblade, only to have it bounce off the seemingly impenetrable barrier.

Seeing this, Ultimecia gathered her power, holding the locket in her hands as she reached for the sky. "I need something to provide the Time magic; I cannot afford to use my own stores of magic for this; I'll need it to finish Time Compression." She suddenly jerked her head over at Hermione. "I sense Time Magic… would you fetch that for me?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she clutched the Time Turner hanging around her neck. "No!"

"Protect that Time Turner with your life!" Harry barked. "Everyone, guard Hermione!" In a matter of instants, Harry's party was between Voldemort and Hermione.

Voldemort stepped out of the barrier with an arrogant smirk adorning Pettigrew's face. "I'll get the Time Turner, you just get ready to bring back my body!"

"Not if I can help it!" another voice called out from the side. A purplish wormhole had appeared out of nowhere, and through it Odin was riding his steed, his sword at the ready as he charged the evil wizard. "Zantetsuken!"

"Seifer!" Ultimecia barked.

There was a blinding flash of light; and when it cleared, everyone was shocked; Odin's one-hit kill technique had been not only blocked, but _reflected_, by Seifer, who was now standing in front of Voldemort. "I will aid you, as my Sorceress commands," Seifer said calmly,

At those words, time seemed to slow, and Odin and his horse… fell apart, cruelly split in half. Ginny and Hermione gasped, almost in slow motion, in disbelief. _This isn't happening… you can't kill a Guardian Force… it's impossible… _

**_:No, Potter… not impossible,: _**Bahamut murmured. **_:Just very, very difficult. Odin left himself vulnerable by never allowing people to junction him; he has no junction stone to return to in order to recover as other Guardian Forces would… He is dead.: _**Bahamut seemed almost respectful of the Guardian Force of Death, and if Harry didn't know better, he'd say that there was some sorrow in the mental inflection as well.

The two halves of Odin and his steed flashed white and dissipated, and Zantetsuken, Odin's sword, flew upwards, spinning end over end until it suddenly flashed blue, seeming to cut through the dimension itself, and an armored hand was seen catching Zantetsuken by the handle as the tear closed.

"No…" Harry whispered. "You'll pay for that!" he roared. "_Diffindo! Incendio! Conjunctiva Inflammare!" _

With an almost lazy wave of his wand, Voldemort shielded Seifer from the assault. Squall rushed to Harry's side. "Harry, we have to stop Voldemort from shielding Seifer before we can avenge Odin!"

"Leave that to me. You keep Seifer occupied," Harry replied darkly.

"Rinoa! Irvine! With me!" Squall ordered. "Long range attacks when you have clear shots, I've got Seifer up close. Everyone else, be prepared to heal us if we need it, and otherwise get ready for Ultimecia."

Harry nodded and without turning around, barked out his own commands. "Hermione, stay back, we can't let Voldemort get your Time Turner! Blaise, Daphne, guard her! Ginny, Theo, summon your GFs, now!"

"Cerberus!" The ground began shaking, and suddenly enormous gates erupted from behind everyone, darkness enveloping everything behind it. The three-headed dog Guardian Force barreled through the gates and howled before disappearing along with the gates, infusing Harry's allies with magical energy, allowing them to cast spells three times as quickly.

"Quetzalcoatl!" Ginny cried, and the ceiling far above morphed into a sky, which darkened immediately with stormclouds.

"What the hell is going on?!" Voldemort screamed, utterly confused. "What is this magic?!" _First a Cerberus, seemingly from the gates of Hell itself, and now something powerful enough to cause a thunderstorm merely by approaching?! WHAT ARE THESE KIDS?! _

"Say hello to Quetzalcoatl, Guardian Force of Lightning!" Harry crowed as lightning struck between him and Voldemort, coalescing and forming into the familiar gargantuan bird.

"QUETZ! Thunder Storm!" Ginny and Harry cried in unison.

Hermione, Blaise, Daphne and Theo looked on in amazement as Quetz's body began to glow with ethereal lightning: this was the first time they were seeing just how powerful a Guardian Force could be. Voldemort took advantage of this opportunity to silently summon Hermione's Time Turner while their defenses were down.

"No!" Hermione gasped as the Time Turner's necklace broke, flying away from her. "Harry, the Time Turner!"

Harry whipped his wand and with the accuracy of countless hours of practice, aimed at the flying Time-Turner. _"Reducto!" _

But then the Time Turner changed direction, and flew through the barrier to Ultimecia in Adel's body, who grasped it with a malicious grin. Harry turned his attention back on Voldemort, who looked sinfully pleased. "What're you grinning at? You're about to die! Quetz is about to kill you, and you'll never get your body back!"

"Harry, Harry," Voldemort chided. "Have you forgotten? This is not truly my body; I am not beholden to it. You can destroy this body all you like, but I will live on!"

"Finish it!" Ginny commanded.

Quetz unleashed a gigantic ball of electricity right at Voldemort, who merely stood and took it, screaming in pain as lightning coursed through his body. The electricity expanded, creating a huge sphere of crackling energy, and then Quetz disappeared in a flash of white, returning to Ginny's head.

Voldemort, in Peter Pettigrew's body, fell to the ground, dead… but then gray smoke rose from the back of Wormtail's head, flying over to Adel and into her head.

Suddenly the ceiling morphed back into a picture of the sky, and a figure garbed in red, and with… "Is it just me, or does that guy have four left arms?" Theo asked bluntly.

"Not just you," Daphne answered calmly.

"Ah. Think he has four right arms?"

"Probably," Blaise responded. "Hard to tell though, considering the large sash."

"He looks like a samurai," Ginny commented.

"Most likely a Guardian Force…" Harry postulated. "Wonder what his name is?"

The figure turned to Seifer. "You gave me the fourth one…"

Seifer jumped back from engaging Squall, who backed off to let this figure deal with him. "Huh? The fourth what?"

"The fourth sword… Zantetsuken. Was it you?"

Seifer laughed. "Yeah. Odin was pathetically easy to kill."

"Then dodge my sword! Eat this!" The figure swung the sword in his bottom-most left hand, slicing the air, and causing a massive shockwave that sent Seifer flying.

"Ergwahhh!" Seifer let out as he flew into a wall, crumpling.

"Where is the dimensional interval?" the figure murmured before turning around and vanishing.

"So, that was Gilgamesh," Ultimecia in Adel's body commented. "Interesting. I wonder what the other three swords he speaks of are… No matter. Now, to get Voldemort's body. And to ensure that I live…" Adel's arm snatched out and grabbed Rinoa.

"SQUALL!" Rinoa screamed.

"RINOA!" Squall cried out, leaping up to slice off the offending arm, but it was too late. Adel had already brought Rinoa's frail form against her own monstrous body. Being enormous, at least thirty feet tall, Rinoa's body was mostly absorbed into her, leaving only her torso, where her arms were bound against Adel to keep her from using any weapons.

"We have to stop her!" Squall and Harry yelled in unison as Adel raised her arms, causing yet another wormhole to appear in the sky. This time, though, the Time Turner Adel had stolen floated upwards and shattered. The magical sands within spiraled into the wormhole, causing it to shift colors.

"Silence!" Squall attempted, trying to keep Adel from using her magic. Nothing happened, however, so the Silence spell had likely not taken effect.

"Squall, help me!" Rinoa cried. "AAAAAH!"

Ultimecia smirked, straightening. "Ah, your life fuels my own…"

"We don't have a choice!" Zell yelled at Squall. "If we don't act, Rinoa will die! The only chance we've got is if we act now!"

"Then let's do it!" Squall ordered. "Everyone! Attack at will!"

"We're helping too!" Theo cried. "Time to put Cerberus's spell to work! _Diffindodiffindodiffindo!_" His Cutting Hexes slammed into Adel's neck, leaving a small incision.

Ginny grinned. "We need a distraction, right? Let's see if she can continue casting through my Bat-Bogey Hex!" Three Bat-Bogey Hexes left her wand, one after the other, each striking Adel in the face.

"ARGH!" Ultimecia groaned as dozens of bats tried to claw their way out of her nose at once. "What a disgusting spell! _Finite!_"

"What?! Adel can use Earth spells?!" Blaise asked in astonishment.

"It must be Voldemort in her head, telling her how to counter our spells!" Harry concluded. "But they're both magic-users, so let's attack physically! Ginny, use as many destructive spells as you can!"

"We can't have that," Voldemort's voice erupted from Adel's mouth. "_Accio._" Ginny suddenly flew through the air and was absorbed as well, just below Rinoa. Ginny screamed in new torment as her life force was drained.

Harry growled, hatred filling him, along with the Limit Break energy. "Squall! Limit Break!"

"You got it!"

Together they cried, "GARENZOKUKEN (Double Continuous Blade)!" Acting in coordination, Squall and Harry leapt into the air and began slicing and dicing at Adel's head, and then together, plunged their gunblades through her eyes.

"… If I ever piss them off, remind me to run far, far away," Theo murmured.

"Same here," Daphne agreed.

Squall and Harry tore their gunblades out of Adel's head, kicking off and backflipping to land on their feet, ready to attack in case Adel got back up. Adel's body began to glow green, and then dissolved into a green energy, releasing Rinoa and Ginny.

Gray smoke also emerged, and Voldemort's visage appeared there with a smirk. "You're too late. Look!" Something was emerging from the portal, infused with the power of time… a body fell to the ground. "My body has returned! And now, for Ultimecia to possess the next Sorceress!"

The green energy rushed at Rinoa, wrapping around her and forming a translucent blue pillar of light for a few moments before giving way to red, then almost violet. Rinoa collapsed when it was done.

"Ultimecia's inside her now," Squall stated, recognizing it from the last time Rinoa had collapsed after facing a Sorceress.

"Now, Ellone," a voice said from behind them all. Everyone whirled to see Laguna with an arm protectively wrapped around Ellone.

"I take it you're Laguna?" Hermione asked, connecting the dots.

"Yeah. Ellone, just get Rinoa back."

A very light blue shimmering shined on Rinoa, and she woke up, getting to her feet. "I was… inside her. Inside a young Adel," Rinoa murmured.

"Ultimecia's inside Adel now, just as she wanted," Laguna commented.

"That's nice. Can we destroy Voldemort's body before the Time Compression kicks in?!" Theo asked sarcastically.

"Even if we did, it would have no effect…" Harry said sadly. "Because Voldemort's body has now existed in this dimension for any length of time, he will be able to rejoin it when Ultimecia completes the Time Compression."

"Quite right, Potter!" Voldemort's voice said with a smirk. "And you can't do anything about it! No spell you can cast in the next few seconds can kill me, either!"

"Harry! The Horcrux!" Hermione realized. "If we destroy it, maybe Voldemort won't be able to exist in this dimension!"

Voldemort looked incredulously at the Muggleborn witch. "How in the name of Salazar Slytherin do you know about my Horcrux?! For that matter, how the hell do you know the term Horcrux anyway?! It's the darkest of Dark Magic, a mere child like you…!"

"Shut the hell up, Tom!" Harry quickly looked at the place where Adel had fallen; but Slytherin's Locket wasn't there! "_Accio Locket!_"

"Too late!" Voldemort cried gleefully, as the world began to swirl and warp.

Suddenly, the floor opened up and everyone fell through it, though Voldemort and his body and locket suddenly veered away from everyone else, presumably to where Ultimecia awaited her opponents. It was hard to see where he was, as around them all were hundreds, thousands of silvery bubbles that, when Harry glanced in a few, he could see contained memories… and the further they fell, the further back the memories went.

Harry aimed his wand at Voldemort through the bubbles, even knowing that at this distance he would miss, yelling _"Reducto!" _What Harry didn't know was that Irvine Kinneas had also had the presence of mind to quickly pull a sniper rifle out of his own Item Bag, take aim with the mastery of years training as a sharpshooter, and fire.

Spell met bullet and the bullet shattered into thousands of tiny shards, all flying in the same direction. Harry and Irvine shared a smirk as they heard a piercing scream of rage and pain as the hail of bullet shrapnel cut into Voldemort's body, just before it vanished in a flash of yellow light.

"Hey Potter? You're alright," Irvine complimented as he stowed his sniper rifle back into his Item Bag.

"You too, Kinneas," Harry agreed, sheathing his wand and glancing down at where they were falling. "Water below! Brace for impact!"

But much to everyone's astonishment, they didn't hit the water hard at all, despite how fast they'd been falling. Instead, it was like the water had simply reached up and enveloped them in an instant. The water didn't even feel like water at all, despite seeing the many varieties of aquatic life within. Instead, it was like wet air, as no one's falling speed decreased.

They kept falling, and suddenly they broke through once more into air… falling down, out of the layer of water in a spout, falling once more, only to be surrounded by hundreds of crows, flying so fast and so near each other that it was a veritable black tornado, unable to tell one from the next, feathers flying all around.

One managed to get in Harry's mouth, and he spat it out in disgust, ignoring the laughter from all his friends. "Traitors," he muttered.

Then the scene warped subtly; instead of crows, the tornado was of black clouds, which then turned into a solid gray tornado with flashes of green and purple light flashing around them, with light at the end of the tunnel.

"Where we going?!" Zell screamed.

"Edea's house!" Squall replied, and the light at the end grew bigger. "Get ready! Who knows what might be there! And Rinoa? I won't let you disappear!"

Then the light shone, blinding everyone, and all of a sudden, Harry landed softly on his feet, as if he'd merely bounced on his feet instead of falling God knows how far. He heard the others touch down as well as he looked around quickly, assessing the area.

It was a simple, yet elegant, hallway of some sorts it seemed. Only two doors, and those were closed. _No obvious traps, no monsters waiting to jump us. _"Clear," he said aloud.

"I thought we were going to Edea's house, not the Galbadia float!" Selphie accused.

"Well, maybe we have to walk it?" Zell offered. No one had a good answer, so Squall turned to Harry.

"How do you want to do this?" Squall asked. "There are two enemies now. This Voldemort character, and Ultimecia."

"Simple. We go together, and knock out one at a time," Harry answered. "Ultimecia first. She's the threat right now, as Voldemort will need time to recover his magical reserves."

"There are twelve of us," Quistis pointed out. "Far too large for coordinated fighting. Even if we worked together, we'd always be in each other's way. Three or four people fighting together stand a better chance, while the others support."

"Alright. Three groups of four. Two groups will take turns battling, while the third will heal whoever needs it and draw magic if they can," Harry suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Hermione agreed.

"Yeah," Squall said. "So, who's in what group?"

"I have little choice… I have no healing magic. I shall fight," Blaise stated firmly.

"He's got a point. I can't heal either," Daphne concurred.

Harry turned to Theo, who scoffed. "Are you kidding? I'm totally fighting!"

"I'll be a healer, as the only weapon I have is magic, and we might be fighting magic-immune monsters," Ginny offered. "I'll summon Quetz if we're attacked, and I can use both Terran Cure spells and Earth healing magic."

"I'm with her," Hermione agreed. "I can't use Terran magic, but I've got a good knowledge of what Madame Pomfrey's taught us, and my whip is good for mid to long range attacks to hold enemies off."

"I'm going to fight," Rinoa said fiercely. "It's time I make use of my Sorceress powers!"

"I'm no good at healing, and besides, I'm a fighter at heart," Zell stated.

Quistis hesitated. "I'll be with the healer team. I just don't like fighting."

"I'm gonna kick butt with nun-chucks!" Selphie cheered.

"I'll stick around the healers," Irvine unexpectedly volunteered. "Any team needs at least one strong fighter, and while Quistis is good, I'm faster at attacking quickly and repeatedly."

Squall smirked. "I'm a gunblade specialist. Fighting is my forte."

Harry smirked back. "Couldn't have said it better myself. So, here's how I'm seeing it. Because we work best with people we know, we'll keep the fighter teams with people they've worked with. Irvine will lead Quistis, Hermione and Ginny in the Healer team. Squall will be in charge of his Terran fighter team, consisting of Selphie, Zell and Rinoa. I've got the Earth fighter team, with Blaise, Daphne and Theo."

Everyone concurred with the idea, and split up into their parties. "My group will fight first," Squall volunteered.

"If there's more than one extremely powerful opponent, we'll join in," Harry agreed.

Squall nodded then turned towards the door. "Let's go."

In the next room, a figure, resembling Sorceress Edea, was sitting in a single solitary chair, in the middle of the room under an impressive-looking light fixture, where all the windows gave off a very light luminescence, lavender curtains swaying gently in an unfelt breeze.

The figure stood up as everyone walked in, still facing away from the group. And then, shockingly, she slowly split into two, then four, effortlessly cloning herself. The four then turned around, and raised their arms in unison.

With an eerie, haunting laugh, three of them disappeared, while the other morphed into a giant-sized sorceress, clad in several shades of violet, with a yellow frill around her waist. However, it was immediately obvious she was not Sorceress Ultimecia, as her skin was purple, and she was twelve feet tall. Unless humanity had suddenly mutated, she was merely a construct.

"Scan!" Selphie cried, having thought to verify. "She's not Ultimecia, but she's no pushover either! She's a magical construct that will require a moderate deal of damage to defeat, but her magical power is quite strong!"

Squall smirked. "Too bad for her we have the real thing. Rinoa! Cover me! Selphie, you and Zell take below, I've got above!"

Rinoa began to glow as her own Sorceress power manifested. "Will do!"

"Let's take him out!" Zell cried, rushing in an attempt to crush the legs of the Sorceress.

"Protect," the Sorceress intoned, shielding herself from physical damage.

"Dispel!" Rinoa countered smugly.

"Blizzaga." The Sorceress created several dozens small shards of what looked like extremely sharp ice and launched them at Zell, who could not hope to evade them all.

"Reflect!" A shimmering red diamond-like shield encompassed the moving Zell and reflected all the ice right back at the Sorceress who merely dismissed the spell with a wave of her hand.

Zell and Selphie reached the legs of the Sorceress and immediately began occupying her, keeping her moving in an attempt to keep from harm; being so large made her an easy target. "You're mine!" Squall cried as he leapt into the air with junction-enhanced strength, slicing the Sorceress from her left shoulder to the right hip.

Harry clapped appreciatively as the Sorceress spun slowly around, shrinking into itself before turning into a purple wisp of smoke. "Well played."

Squall merely smirked and wrapped an arm around Rinoa as Selphie and Zell exchanged high fives. "You're up, Harry."

The entire room blackened until all that was around was pitch black, through everyone could see everyone else. Out of the sky, another copy of the Sorceress was descending in a hazy color-shifting bubble of magic, surrounded by rotating pillars of yellow light. As the Sorceress landed, the blackness gave way to a town setting.

"Showoff," Harry murmured. "How interesting to choose Timber to fight… no matter. Guys, kill her while I keep her busy! _Reducto!_"

"Reflect."

_"Protego! Diffindo!" _

"Reflect. Firaga." The fire spell had, instead of being used offensively as expected, become a veritable firestorm around the Sorceress, keeping her from being approached. Theo, Blaise and Daphne were nowhere near the speed of the SeeD, and as a result had not managed to reach the Sorceress before she unleashed her spell.

Harry raised his eyebrow. _Using an offensive spell as a defensive one… impressive. It won't last long, however. _"Blizzard!" Casting the Beginner level Ice element spell through his wand made it shiver as the magic within the spell was amplified, shooting an intensely powerful spray of arctic temperature snow at the fire, which was promptly put out.

Daphne, Blaise and Theo took their chance and unleashed their attacks. Daphne and Theo stabbed into the Sorceress's chest side by side, Daphne's dagger just to the left of Theo's strap-on blade, while Blaise's battle axe had been buried into the Sorceress's head.

The three pulled their weapons out and leapt back as they had been trained, just in case the Sorceress had somehow survived. This was not the case, as the Sorceress was already dissipating into purple smoke.

The scene warped again as another Sorceress made an appearance, and now they were fighting on a beach very near the ocean. The area was so generic it was impossible to tell where they were, but suddenly a gunshot resounded, the bullet hitting the Sorceress in the head, and the Sorceress disappeared. Everyone turned to Irvine, who shrugged. "This is getting irritating, and these things are pretty weak."

No one had an answer to that, and merely watched as the scene warped yet again, this time to a street in Esthar. As the Sorceress finished landing, the scene changed, another Sorceress coming into existence as Esthar changed into the Balamb Garden Training Facility. Zell and Selphie took care of them quickly.

Another Sorceress came down from the heavens as the area changed into a snowy forest. Harry merely threw his gunblade at her, striking her in the chest, and as the Sorceress disappeared, he Summoned it back. He repressed the urge to yawn. "This is so boring…"

As if in answer to Harry's comment, the next Sorceress that came down was dressed much differently, completely in red and yellow robes. She looked to be a queen, perhaps, and the scene became right in front of Balamb Garden. Irvine took a shot at her, only to have a shield disintegrate the bullet.

Harry raised an eyebrow; this one was perhaps a bit tougher than the others. Rinoa cast Haste on Zell, who rushed forward incredibly quickly, faster than the people from Earth – excluding Harry – could see, and punched the Sorceress in the side, but this one didn't disintegrate, but merely stumbled to the left, where Blaise was waiting for her. Blaise slammed his battle axe into the Sorceress's opposite side, and now, she disintegrated.

Harry was disappointed; that could not have been Sorceress Ultimecia. Then another copy of the red and yellow Sorceress descended, and the scene morphed to what appeared to be a mining facility. This Sorceress appeared to be much faster, as before anyone could do anything, she had cast a spell. "Meltdown."

"Scatter!" Harry yelled, diving to the right out of the way of the extremely powerful beam. "Meltdown will lower all your defense, and make it extremely easy to kill you!" he warned his friends, who had followed his example. Unfortunately, Hermione had been hit and fell to her knees.

"Esuna!" Ginny cried, putting her hands over Hermione.

Hermione immediately felt much better. "Thanks, Ginny," she said appreciatively.

Selphie managed to smack the Sorceress as she dove, but the Sorceress continued by summoning yet another copy of herself as the scene swirled into the middle of a volcano… "This is where I faced Ifrit," Squall murmured.

Theo and Daphne rushed the Sorceress on the right, and barely managed to avoid a Flare the Sorceress on the left sent at them. Even so, they were burned by the tri-elemental attack, and after managing to kill their target, quickly ran to the healer group to be healed with Cure spells. Harry himself tagteamed with Zell, who managed to leap up behind the Sorceress and punch the Sorceress forward, right into Harry's gunblade. As the Sorceresses disappeared, everyone took a few deep breaths, hoping it was over.

No such luck, as that eerie laugh echoed again, and another Sorceress descended as the world warped into another town. "Come ON!" Zell complained. "Enough of this already!"

"Slow!" Rinoa cried, slowing down the Sorceress, giving Irvine enough time to shoot her and be done with it.

The world warped again, but this time, it went to black, and stayed there, as a hideous, demented monster descended. The bottom half was like a snake with a green end that kept lashing back and forth, while the top half was vaguely humanoid, with extremely long, misshapen arms, and a horrible face.

The ground began to shake as though under a constant Quake spell, leaving only the SeeD who were experienced with such conditions to fight. "Thundaga!" Rinoa cried as Irvine shot at it. Selphie swung with her nun-chucks, smacking the legs of the beast hard, while Quistis, Squall and Zell kept drawing spells from the creature.

"Three. Two. One."

"Huh?" Harry murmured.

"Ultima."

"Oh shit!" Harry cried. He was not the only one either. "Get out of here, guys!" he yelled at his Earth friends. "You can't take an Ultima blast!"

"And you can?!" Theo bellowed back.

"YES!" Harry screamed. _"Expello!" _The Banishing charm managed to carry all his friends out of the blast radius, and Harry narrowed his eyes at the incoming expanding sphere of destruction. _It's non-elemental, Reflect doesn't work on it, too close to dodge… time for a Shield Charm! "Protego!" _

Harry poured his magic into it, and much to his surprise, he felt none of the burning sensation he had when doing this exact same thing against Bahamut. _It must have been my Burning Day! When I was reborn from the ashes, my magical channels must have been healed, and my magic restored. And since my channels were much increased in size from facing Bahamut… I got a huge expansion in how much magic I can use! _He got a wicked grin. _Let's see how much I can overpower a Blasting Hex. _

The Ultima faded away, and Harry released his Shield charm. He was completely unharmed, to the astonishment of everyone. He raised his wand and summoned his magic. _"REDUCTO!" _

The spell hit the monstrosity, and for a moment, everyone thought nothing had happened. Then, it exploded violently, the chunks evaporating even as they flew outwards. "Yes!" Harry cried. "It's about time fortune was on my side!"

The scene morphed again, and everyone was prepared for a fight… but no Sorceress came down. Now they were on a beach, but nearby was... "The Orphanage!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We made it!" Rinoa exclaimed gleefully.

Harry's grin grew broader. "Hey, Ginny, can I borrow Quetz for a minute?"

"Huh? How?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Just focus on the idea of Quetz leaving your body, and his stone will appear in your hand." A few moments later, Harry reabsorbed Quetz into his body. _Quetz, can you hear me? _

**_:Yes, I can hear you.: _**

**:Potter, just WHY have you brought that infernal thunderbird into your mind?!: **

_Because I want him to check something for me. Quetz, would you mind checking out my magical pathways and core really quick? _

**_:Certainly.: _**Several moments later, Harry smirked, pleased to feel Quetz's astonishment. **_:How did this happen?!: _**

_During my fight with Bahamut, I expended a rather large amount of magic, searing my magical pathways. Thankfully, those healed when I went through my Burning Day. So how's it looking? _

**_:If I hadn't seen it myself, I would never have believed it… I would estimate you now have the ability to cast sixth or seventh year Earth magic, and you can cast up to Advanced Terran magic without interfering with your growth at all. Ultimate spells I would still be careful with, however,: _**Quetz recommended. **_:You could probably get away with one or two an hour. Just remember, however, that now that you can cast large quantities of magic faster, you must practice your magic control: _**

Harry groaned. _How did I see that coming? _

**_:Your Inner Eye?: _**Quetz answered dryly.

Harry buried his head in his hands to stifle the louder groan that comment triggered.

"Are you ok, Harry?" Ginny asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Quetz is just making wisecracks…" Harry replied as he pushed the Lightning Guardian Force back into his junction stone and handing it back to Ginny.

"Let's walk for a while, take a break from fighting," Hermione proposed, and everyone agreed, starting to walk along the beach.

"I wonder if Dumbledore's noticed that we're missing?" Theo commented.

"Probably," Ginny responded.

"Think he's throwing a fit?" Daphne queried.

"Assuredly so," Blaise replied.

_Hogwarts__ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, Earth _

"Damn it, Harry's on Terra _again!_ And he's brought his friends with him!" Dumbledore screeched, throwing a valuable trinket against a wall, smashing it. "Not to mention, Ginny Weasley is with them as well, and Potter will almost certainly tell her everything!"

"It's your own fault, you know," the Sorting Hat commented.

"Shut up you blasted hat!"

"I don't think I will," the Hat replied smugly. "You can't destroy me, or you'll be blamed and your reputation will be ruined. You can't change my memories or force me to support you, since the Founders themselves enchanted me, and you can't hope to match them. So, I'm free to speak my mind. It's your own fault you're in this position. You just _had _to be in control of everything, but you met your match with Harry Potter. You lost his trust, and trust me, that's a very bad thing to do."

"Just what do you mean?!" Dumbledore demanded.

"I've been in his head, remember?" the Hat reminded the Headmaster. "He's not just a student, Albus. He may as well have been tutored by Salazar Slytherin himself, he is so cunning. His vengeance will be sweet, and you will lose everything you hold dear."

"What are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked, slightly calmer. "Harry, even after somehow circumventing my Memory Charms, has never come after me."

"That's because he's giving you enough rope to hang yourself with. And you've done a marvelous job of it as well." The Hat smirked. "Besides, he has more than one big fish to fry. There's you, and there's Voldemort, and he knows it."

"Bah, I'll catch him off guard eventually," Dumbledore said, self-assured. "No one can be on guard 24-7. And he'll need me and my knowledge to kill Riddle. I'll get Harry to trust me again, and then, when he least suspects it, he'll be my tool as he should have been. Or if it comes to it, I'll beat him again, blame it on Tom, and then assert my control."

"You think you can beat him in one-on-one battle?!" the Hat asked incredulously before laughing hard.

"You think I cannot?!" Dumbledore thundered, his eyes no longer twinkling as he exuded power, an intimidating figure to say the least.

"Let's just say Harry has more than one ace in the hole," the Hat said before falling silent once more.

_Edea's Orphanage, Time Compressed World, Terra _

After a quarter hour of relaxing walking, dead bodies began to materialize on the beach, bringing looks of repulsion from those unaccustomed to it – namely, Harry's group – and sad acceptance from those who were. "Who are they?" Rinoa asked.

Squall leaned down and bared the symbol on the shoulder of one dead body; it was a SeeD. "I think these people are future SeeD. We're fighting across generations to get to Ultimecia."

As soon as Squall said the name, out in the sea, a huge castle came out of the water, and a chain connecting the beach to the castle erupted from the sand. "And that," Harry said grimly, "is where Ultimecia and Voldemort are waiting for us."

------------------------------------------------

And there we are, another chapter completed! It took me a while to get the Time compression scene right. Had to base a lot of it off of youtube videos, and I'm still a bit wary of how it turned out.

But hey! Now Harry's fully recovered, and ready to kick some ass with Advanced and Ultimate spells. Soon, he will show everyone just how strong he is when he's not holding back.

Please review, tell me what you think! Flames, praise, whatever you feel like! I could always use some feedback to make it better, and I AM taking suggestions. I can't think of everything, you know!


	9. Author's Note: SORRY!

This is NOT a chapter. Don't leave a review, please, as this will be deleted when the chapter is finished.

I am SO sorry. I've been so busy lately between college, work, and getting engaged, that I haven't been able to finish the latest chapter. Yes, you read right, I'M ENGAGED TO THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS! YES!

OK, moment of overwhelming joy has passed. Seriously, I'm sorry for not finishing it yet, but this story has NOT been abandoned. Just got some writer's block that makes it frustrating to even get half a page out. But I promise you, you WILL enjoy it.

NeoRyu777

Again, DON'T REVIEW!


	10. The Castle

Hey everyone, NeoRyu777 here! I know, I know, it's been ages and ages since the last true update. But hey, I have one right here! Not quite up to my usual standard of 20 pages, but 16 isn't bad, and I just could not help but leave it where it was.

Disclaimer: As far as I know, JKR has never worked with Squaresoft. And I, a lowly help desk worker, definitely has not. So any work that involves Final Fantasy and Harry Potter is definitely not mine.

OK, I just realized that a brief summary would be very useful, so...

Worldly Prisoners Abridged!

Harry saves Sirius early in his third year at Hogwarts, gains Remus as an ally, and loses Wormtail due to scores of dementors intervening. Not long later, Voldemort discovers that he could hop into our hero's head. After an initial discovery that there was a portal in the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort makes a concentrated effort and learns the temporary portal ritual.

Dumbledore realizes that Harry broke the memory charm, and faces off with him, and Harry pranks all of Hogwarts by pretending to be Snape's familiar in his Storm Phoenix form.

To ensure that he wouldn't cease to exist on Terra, Voldemort goes to retrieve Slytherin's locket, and is brought to Grimmauld Place when he discovers Regulus Black's treachery. He faces off against Harry, and manages to escape thanks to Kreacher. Harry takes his friends to Terra, where they train. He gives Quetz to Ginny to protect her, teams up with Squall to save Rinoa from being sealed, and then goes and acquires an extremely irritable and proud Bahamut.

Due to overstraining himself in the battle against the King of Dragons, Harry undergoes a Burning Day, and ends up much stronger for it, able to use up to his Advanced level spells without damaging his ability to learn wizard magic, as well as the occasional Ultimate spell.

Harry and his friends from both Terra and Earth face off against Ultimecia and Seifer, and while they defeat Seifer, Ultimecia (wearing Slytherin's Locket) manages to use Hermione's Time-Turner with her own powers over time to summon Voldemort's original body from immediately after he failed to kill Harry at age one. Time Compression ensues, and Voldemort is whole once more.

Without further ado, here we go, NEXT CHAPTER!

Chapter 9: The Castle

Harry and the others now stood upon the huge chain that bound the castle to the beach by the Orphanage, a few hours after having arrived in the Time Compressed world. They had gone up the chain, only to come across a few self-sustaining portals. Through a bit of experimentation – namely, Harry going through each one and back to make sure that he could get back using a portal of his own if necessary – the large party discovered that the portals led to various points around the world.

Harry shifted into his 17-year-old form and kindly created a portal to Balamb Garden, and everyone was delighted to discover that it, and the Ragnarok, had made it through the Time Compression unscathed. Oddly enough, the towns were inaccessible, blocked by some sort of white field that not even Harry's portals could get through. Harry guessed they were trapped in dimensional flux.

Returning to Balamb Garden to prepare, everyone upgraded their weapons with Shugui, not wanting them to break against whatever was in the castle. Now, Harry and Squall were proud owners of Lionheart gunblades, the ultimate model. Likewise, everyone else had the best versions of their own weapons.

Back to the present in this warped, Time Compressed World, Harry's eyes narrowed as he stared forward into the dark castle. "Let's go." All twelve of them resumed walking up the huge chain, which were made of links taller and wider than any man. Soon, they reached the castle, and stepped through the door.

Instantly, a weird sensation went over everyone. "Magic," Harry realized. "Some sort of ward…"

"I don't feel any different," Hermione muttered.

"Same here," Zell replied slowly. "Everyone alright?"

"Think so…"

Rinoa gasped, immediately drawing attention to herself. "I can't access my Sorceress magic! Or any of my drawn magics!"

"What?!" Squall cried. A moment later, his eyes widened. "I can't feel my magic either!"

"Well, we have our Guardian Forces, right?" Quistis asked. Only a second later, however, she gasped as well. "Leviathan says a block has been put on us, and we can't draw magic or summon GFs either!"

Harry took a deep breath. "Well, not being able to cast Terran spells, or summon our GFs is bad, but not crippling. There's probably some beast we need to kill to unlock them. We'll just need to do it the old fashioned way."

"HARRY!" Ginny suddenly cried, tears falling down her face.

Harry whirled, his wand in hand. "Ginny, what's wrong?!"

"I… I can't call up my own magic. Not just my Terran spells, but my own magic!" Ginny sobbed.

Daphne dropped her daggers in shock. "No… this can't be…"

Blaise frowned. "I can still feel my magic… _Expelliarmus_!" Nothing happened. "Interesting… it seems everything but our physical strength has been blocked…"

"Not everything," Squall corrected. "We can still junction magic to passively help us."

"But I'm not as strong as you are!" Ginny screamed in frustration. "I'm useless! My only weapon is my magic, and my only other backup is Quetz, and I can't use either!"

Harry's frown deepened. _That IS a problem._ "Well, we can't leave you out there all alone; you might be attacked. So you're still coming with us, just don't attack anything, ok? We'll unlock the magic soon enough. "

Ginny nodded, sniffling. "Thanks, Harry."

"So, to summarize our situation, we're about to fight our way through the castle, with a severe handicap of being able to use nothing but junctions and physical fighting, and we're a man, or rather, woman down," Squall stated. "Be prepared. Check your Item Bags for Hi-Potions and Remedies."

Harry obligingly reached into his Item Bag, but frowned. His expression was echoed by everyone with an Item Bag. "I suppose it's safe to say we can't access our items either?" he asked dryly.

"Well, damn. That puts us in a pickle," Irvine commented. "Only one way through, though, and that's killing whatever's blocking us."

"It's got to be somewhere in here," Harry said thoughtfully. "There are probably going to be several sub-boss-level opponents, each individually maintaining a portion of the ward."

"Only one way to find out," Selphie replied darkly, and stepped through the next door, quickly followed by the others.

They emerged into what appeared to be a ghastly version of a great hall, with what would have been elegant stairs leading up to the second level, with black portraits on the nearby walls. No doors were immediately visible, but not everything could be seen as of yet, as it was relatively dark.

However, there was one thing that stood out. "Is that a Sphinx?" Theo asked slowly. In the center of the room, completely stiff, was what resembled a Sphinx, if you ignored the unusual red and blue-green color scheme, and the two apparently ornamental yet no less impressive adornments on the rear end. It was impossible to tell if it was wearing a crown, or if it was actually part of the head, as the colors blended seamlessly.

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied. "All the books I've read state that Sphinxes are supposed to be a sort of golden yellow. Not teal and maroon. And I'm certain that Sphinxes don't normally have those two things attached to their hindquarters… I hesitate to call them tails…"

"It's probably some variation, then," Harry stated knowledgably. "Most likely a very vicious, strong variant, but we could probably take it down."

"Hold up!" Hermione firmly ordered. "If it's a variant of a Sphinx, it might let us pass without a fight if we answer its riddle. Make no aggressive moves, and maybe we can get through this without having to fight it."

Squall looked at Harry. "What do you think, Harry?"

"Hermione's the most knowledgeable young woman I know," Harry answered confidently. "And we stand nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by trying. We'll give her way a shot. After all, we need to save our strength for the Sorceress."

Zell and Irvine nodded. "He's got a good point," Zell conceded.

"Give it a shot then, Hermione," Irvine encouraged.

Hermione approached, slowly, and the Sphinx-like beast stared at her. "I am the Guardian of the Item Ward, Sphinxara," the now-identified Sphinxara rumbled. "Answer my riddle correctly on the first try, and I will release the ward. Answer incorrectly, and I will attack. Walk away, and I will do nothing."

Harry whistled. _Damn am I glad Hermione came along! If anyone can answer a riddle, she can! _"You can do it, Hermione!"

Everyone else bellowed out similar encouragement, and Hermione picked up her bravery enough to ask, "May I hear the riddle?"

The Sphinxara nodded.

_"I am a river, always flowing, _

_I am sand, always falling._

_I am immaterial, yet always measured,_

_One's grasp on me, easily severed. _

_Never ending, yet there is never enough,_

_I can be smooth, or I can be rough. _

_Steady in movement, yet variant in perception,_

_I only ever move in one direction. _

_Now take these clues, on them rely, _

_And tell me, what am I?"_

"Oh dear," Hermione murmured. "I have never heard that one before… May I hear it again?" The Sphinxara repeated the riddle, and after puzzling over it for several minutes, mumbling incoherently to herself, Hermione nodded decisively. "I think I've got it. You are Time. Time always flows in one direction, and is often represented as sand falling in an hourglass. Time is immaterial, yet always measured in some fashion, such as the rising and setting of the sun. It is quite easy to lose track of time. Time will never end, yet there is never enough time in our lives to do everything we want. Times can be smooth or rough, depending on our situation, and our perception of the passage of time varies upon our awareness of it."

The Sphinxara nodded, and roared loudly. Everyone felt the change, and upon testing, Harry was relieved to be able to use his items once again. Its duty complete, the Sphinxara faded away. "Well!" Theo said, relieved, "glad we didn't have to fight that one. You were great, Hermione!"

"What made you realize the answer was time?" Quistis queried.

"Well,_ 'I am sand, always falling'_ kept nagging at me, because it seemed like a huge hint. Sand shifts or is blown in the desert, it doesn't fall all the time… except in hourglasses. It was a short stretch from there from hourglasses to time itself, and I realized that time fit the bill," Hermione explained.

"Nicely done," Daphne complimented.

"Yes, well done, Hermione. Now, we must move on," Harry stated, pointing at the door which had been illuminated as the Sphinxara disappeared.

Several hours later… "There, we've finally unlocked everything," Rinoa pointed out tiredly.

"Good. Let's take a break, and make sure we're well rested before we face Ultimecia," Harry proposed. He was not very tired, but he had been letting his friends do a lot of the fighting, only stepping in when they seemed extremely overwhelmed. Primarily he had been support, using Cura and Curaga on his friends. After all, what better way to get stronger than to fight for your life against an opponent who you should not be able to defeat? Harry's spells made sure that his friends did not die, while also healing their torn and weary muscles so they could continue fighting, which had the fortunate side effect of building their muscles back stronger than before. Harry had from his Item Bag quite a few protein supplements that he had his friends consume before and after every battle so the healing spells had protein to work with to build up their strength.

This combined with the trait known as 'Experience' to most SeeD. What Harry's friends knew theoretically from training with Harry and Shugui that killing monsters gave them a miniscule portion of their life energy, their strength, boosting the effects of training. However, the Guardians and high-level monsters in the castle had enormous power, so that 'miniscule portion' had a large result on Harry's friends.

As a result, their experience had made them much faster and stronger, which was especially visible when they were fighting the occasional monster on the way to the next Guardian. At first, they had struggled with killing it, and Harry couldn't blame them; it was on a much higher level than they were used to. However, by the last Guardian, they were killing the monsters with much more ease, though still not as easily as Squall's party.

Theo, Daphne and Blaise were not the only ones who had fought under Harry's command, either; a couple of the Guardians were large enough that Hermione and Ginny joined in as well without interfering with the others' fighting styles. Harry also had them also swapping out with the others when they needed a breather.

It turned out that more had been sealed away than just Items, Terran Magic, Earth Magic, Guardian Force Summoning, and Drawing. Limit Breaks, and Resurrection, a special ability of a few of the Guardian Forces, had also been sealed. Seven Guardians, each on a much higher level than what Harry's Earth friends could handle, and four of them had been defeated by only Harry's friends, with Harry as backup. He was very proud of them.

"Harry, your party should ALWAYS come with us whenever we foray into a new castle," Selphie said happily. "Without you, we would never have found all of the Guardians."

"Yeah," Theo grouched, collapsing to the floor and rubbing his sore arms. "If you hadn't looked at every single portrait in that one room and then realized what the other one had to be named…"

"Hey, look who's talking, Mister-Hey-Look-It's-A-Key! If you hadn't spotted every single shiny key and then rushed off to unlock the door it went to, we wouldn't have had to fight so often," Daphne accused, exhaustedly falling to the floor herself.

"Hey, hey, relax!" Ginny tried to calm them down. "It's good that we unlocked everything quickly, really!"

"Yeah. That means Voldemort has had less time to prepare. We can only hope he isn't at full strength," Harry agreed grimly.

"We must rest," Blaise stated firmly. "We cannot afford fighting between ourselves right now. Harry, may we each have a Hi-Potion to help our muscles heal and recover?"

Harry shrugged, and tossed one to each of his friends, and they quickly downed them, immediately perking up. "I never get tired of those things," Theo said, more energetic now. "It's like a cross between a Pepper-Up Potion and a Cure spell with a nice aftertaste too!"

"What's a Pepper-Up Potion?" Quistis asked curiously.

"It's a potion from our world that can re-energize you and heats you up nicely. It also works well against the common cold," Hermione informed.

"Sounds incredibly useful," Quistis observed.

"It is," Theo assured her. "Sad thing is, it tastes god-awful, just like every other potion we've come across. Except Terran brands, these things are great!"

"It's probably the ingredients," Hermione postulated.

"Probably," Daphne agreed absently, obviously lost in thought.

"What's up, Daph?" Theo asked, noticing her preoccupation.

"I'm just worried," Daphne confessed. "We're about to face off against the most powerful Dark Lord in centuries, who's teamed up with an immensely powerful Sorceress from the future with Merlin knows how much raw power. Hell, her name is Ultimecia! Does the word 'Ultimate' come to mind to anyone else?!"

Ginny looked up. "We know, Daphne. Merlin's beard, we know. But we don't have much other choice. We may be young, but right now we're our world's only hope. Dumbledore's getting old, and we can't trust him anyway. It has to be us."

"We have to fight him now, before he has the chance to grow even more powerful with the possibilities here on Terra," Harry murmured quietly. "Before he recovers his full strength. Remember, the body Ultimecia recovered for him had just taken a Killing Curse rebounded from me, powered with the strength and purification of Holy. Ultimecia may have brought it back to life with a Full-Life spell, but there's no denying Voldemort has been without a body for twelve long years, excluding his possessions. It may take him a while to reacquaint himself with his own body." _Now, assuming that my Terran friends will deal with the Terran threat, how will we handle Voldemort? Hmm… Ginny would only be a liability in battle. Her spellcasting speed is not nearly up to par, and she has a very limited selection that will be blocked quite easily. Her only use is as a healer…_ Harry's perception of his surroundings faded to almost nothing as he plotted.

"Huh? A Full-Life spell?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yeah, it'll resurrect and completely heal someone as long as they've been dead less than five minutes," Zell explained. "It's an Ultimate level spell, but I doubt that Ultimecia will even blink at using those."

Harry looked up from his internal musings when he felt several glares laced with killer intent aimed his way. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Harry…" Daphne started with a dangerous tone threatening extreme maiming if she didn't get an answer she liked, "when were you going to tell us that you could bring back the dead with a Full-Life spell?"

Harry blinked, then glared at the guilty-looking Zell. "Why did you tell them that?"

"Hey, you're the one that let out there was such a spell!" Zell retorted. "I thought they already knew!"

Harry sighed. _No getting out of this one._ "The Full-Life spell is rather rare," he began. "Like Zell probably mentioned, it's an Ultimate level spell. It takes me quite some time to replicate those. Also, I didn't want you to go and do suicidal tactics to win; that's counterproductive, and besides, Full-Life doesn't always work. For instance, if you're cut in half and each part is separated from each other, there's almost no chance of being brought back. However, if you died from blood loss, or a piercing injury of some sort, then Full-Life will work every time," Harry explained.

"How long does it take for you to generate your spells?" Ginny inquired.

Harry shrugged. "Depends on the level of the spell, really. Beginner level spells take a couple of weeks to duplicate. Intermediate level takes a month, Advanced takes two months, and Ultimate takes four. I have essentially infinite of every type except Ultimate, as my body can't handle more than one hundred and fifty of those at a time, currently. Or at least, that's how it was before my Burning Day, I'd have to experiment a bit to find my current limit," Harry added as an afterthought.

"Will a Full-Life spell counteract a Killing Curse?" Hermione queried.

"I don't know, and I don't want to find out," Harry replied firmly. "So don't get caught by any in the near future, got it?" Everyone nodded their assent.

"Harry, can I have a word?" Squall stated more than asked, but Harry nodded anyway, getting up and walking out of earshot with the Terran leader.

"What's up?"

"We need to decide how we're going to deal with Ultimecia and Voldemort."

Harry had thought as much. "I'd prefer it if we could separate them and let my group handle Voldemort. Our world is more familiar with his type of attacks, and Voldemort isn't nearly as fast or as powerful as Ultimecia, which gives us a fighting chance. Quite frankly, my Earth friends aren't ready to face off against Ultimecia."

"Are you sure? Your world's spells were extremely useful against Adel, as I recall," Squall countered. "You might actually win because she won't know how to counter them."

"It's all rather simple, just using Dispel or Shell will block most of them, I imagine," Harry replied, shaking his head. "You're gonna need speed to defeat her, and that is something my friends don't have enough of yet. You guys do."

"I suppose you're right," Squall admitted. "Same tactics as before? One healer group and our two combat groups?"

"Makes sense to me," Harry agreed. "Now for the specifics… Ultimecia is a full-time spell user, which means straight-on fast and furious physical attacks seems best. She might have a Guardian Force, however… be careful. Voldemort, by comparison, is much easier, as he definitely doesn't have a Guardian Force."

"But Earth type magic has more variety than Terran magic does," Squall pointed out.

"True. He's probably performed some rituals to make his body faster and stronger than normal," Harry concurred. "Both opponents will be troublesome to say the least."

"What do we do if they start working together?" Squall questioned.

Harry paused, then laughed out loud. "Ha! It'd never work. Voldemort was arrogant as a bodiless spirit, when he has his body back he'll be so cocky he'd never condescend to working with someone, let alone a woman!"

Squall stifled a chuckle as well, imagining it. "Well, we've had a nice break, but we should go face them now, d'ya think?"

Harry's face turned pensive for a moment before giving a sharp nod. "Yeah. We can't give them any more recovery time than we absolutely have to. Let's go."

A few minutes later, everyone was standing ready at the door that led to Voldemort and Ultimecia, grimly determined to fight for their lives one last time. Harry took a deep breath and readied his gunblade, verifying that his strongest magics were junctioned and ready. He had drawn as many Ultimate level spells from his Storm Phoenix form as he could comfortably, which now numbered about two hundred of each.

Squall stood beside Harry at the front of the group. "Let's get this over with," Squall murmured.

Harry mentally shook his head. Squall was not one for speeches, and normally SeeD didn't need them. But his friends weren't SeeD, and needed a pep talk before facing what could quite easily become their worst nightmare. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he turned to face everyone. "Beyond this door, stand our mortal enemies. There is no one else capable and willing to fight them. Be prepared for their incredible magical strength. They shall show you no mercy, so let's show them none in return! Now, let's kill them and go home!" Harry cried. Without waiting for a response, he turned around and shoved open the overly-large door.

Harry strode inside confidently alongside Squall, and Harry was gratified to hear everyone follow with strong, solid footsteps. Quickly looking around to take in his new surroundings, Harry frowned. The door had taken them outside into a small clearing. There were two golden elaborate thrones, side by side approximately 20 feet up in the air, right in front of him. Around the thrones, circling back to the door, were golden pillars, ornately carved. About a hundred yards beyond the throne was a sharp drop that also circled around. Much further away were the walls of the castle.

A woman, presumably Sorceress Ultimecia, sat on the left throne, garbed in what Harry imagined a warrior queen would wear. On the right was a rather handsome looking young man, looking between the ages of 25 and 35, with the same shade of raven-colored hair as Harry, only shorter and sleeker. The man wore robes as black as pitch, with green and silver lining, and his right hand held a yew wand loosely. He could have been mistaken for many men in Diagon Alley, until one saw his eyes.

The whites of his eyes had been exchanged for a bloody crimson that shed a very light glow on the bridge of his nose and around his eyes, giving him a very menacingly evil look. The red seemed to almost swirl, catching one's eyes easily to make eye contact, almost certainly for Legilimency. This... was Voldemort.

"Blimey," Theo muttered. "He looks almost like an older you, Harry!"

"Don't remind me…" Harry replied in just as low a tone.

"SeeD…" Ultimecia suddenly said. "SeeD, SeeD, SeeD! Curse you all! You're as a plague, swarming like locusts across generations! You disgust me…"

"So these are the SeeD you were telling me about?" Voldemort asked, resting his chin on intertwined hands, looking down at Harry's and Squall's groups. "Hmph! Half of them appear to be children!" He took a closer look. "Oh look, I was followed by children across the dimensions. Judging from the hair and freckles, there's a Weasley blood traitor… and if I'm not mistaken, you're Nott's boy," he commented, pointing at an increasingly pale Theo. "Are you honestly siding with them?"

"Y-y-yes…" Theo stuttered.

"How disappointing. I thought your father raised you better than that," Voldemort chided. "Oh well, he'll just have to come up with a new heir. And you… you're the spitting image of Zabini! Are you also going to side with Mudbloods and blood traitors?" Blaise said nothing, but readied his double-headed axe. "I see. I don't recognize the rest of you Mudbloods. I would have thought Harry Potter would have joined you, at least. Or did he die in the transfer to this Time Compressed world?" he asked amusedly. Then he spotted Harry in his adult form. Voldemort's eyes widened as he pointed an accusing finger. "James Potter! How in Salazar's name did you get here?!"

"Keh!" Harry scoffed, making sure to morph his eyes into blue and keeping his scar out of sight, easily ignoring its burning. "How do you think, Tom? I followed you here to Terra. Did you really think I'd just let you go once you left Grimmauld Place? You will die here and now!"

Voldemort laughed cruelly. "Whatever magic saved you last time, Potter, will not save you here!" He leapt forward out of his throne far faster than a normal human could react in time to, his wand aimed directly for Harry's heart. _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry sidestepped neatly, his gunblade flashing at he swung at Voldemort. The Dark Lord merely narrowed his eyes and his forward lunge turned into an upwards ascent, flying without a broom. "I see you've gained some small skill with the blade," Voldemort observed with a smirk. "But no Muggle skill will defeat magic!"

A shot rang through the air, and everyone turned to Irvine and his still-smoking gun. Following the path his bullet would have followed, Voldemort saw a bullet, only inches away from his head, and a green shield shimmering as the bullet disintegrated before his eyes. "I can't have my newest ally die that quickly," Ultimecia chided as she stood in her chair and floated in the air next to Voldemort. "Do be more careful."

Voldemort grit his teeth angrily. _How DARE they make me look like an incompetent fool! I am the HEIR OF SLYTHERIN! NO ONE can defeat me!_ _"Avada Kedavra!"_ he spat, firing back at Irvine.

"Move! That's the unblockable Killing Curse!" Harry roared at the gunslinger, whose eyes widened as he dove out of the way instead of casting Reflect like he had meant to. _I'm in no mood to test whether the Killing Curse will be repelled by Terran spells._

"Unblockable you say?" Ultimecia asked, intrigued. "Let me try, then. Avada Kedavra!" To everyone's amazement, she managed the unprecedented: a wandless Killing Curse. Her spell rocketed towards Squall, who merely leapt over it. Everyone was still until the Killing Curse exploded against the castle walls. With the explosive sound, the true battle began.

Harry leapt at Voldemort, gunblade swept across his body ready for a diagonal stroke. At the same moment, Ultimecia waved her hand, causing a green barrier to erupt directly behind Harry, keeping his friends from joining him in the attack, and another green barrier to keep Voldemort's spells from interfering with her own fight. Harry, however, paid no mind. "Die!"

"You first, Potter!" Voldemort screamed, firing a silent but lethal-looking purplish-black curse at Harry, who touched down on the ground and dashed left, circling around Voldemort with speed enhanced by years of training and the power of one thousand junctioned Triple spells.

Voldemort matched pace with him in turning around to face his opponent, though barely, making Harry frown. _As I thought… his body has been enhanced by rituals. Let's see who is stronger!_ Bahamut roared his approval within, echoing in Harry's mind as he lunged at the Dark Lord.

Voldemort, instead of blocking like Harry thought he might, instead opened his mouth wide. Harry felt Voldemort shaping his magic without his wand, and was therefore impressed when a roar of fire emerged from Voldemort's mouth. "Good!" Harry complimented, before emerging right in front of Voldemort, fire engulfing not burning him, thanks once again to his Reflect ability junctioned to his elemental defense, allowing him to be completely unaffected the magical fire. "But… not good enough!"

By junctioning his near-thousand number of Reflects onto his elemental defense, Harry was immune to all elements as long as they were powered by magic at the moment of striking him. Non-elemental attacks, and non-magical elemental attacks – such as triggering a volcano with Earthquake and creating a superheated firestorm from the lava and a Tornado spell – would be completely unaffected, however.

Harry went for a killing blow, a stab to the heart, but Voldemort had not risen to the status of Dark Lord through being easily shocked. Instead of being frozen stiff with surprise, Voldemort merely widened his eyes even as he threw himself out of the way. He was not completely successful in dodging, however, and the gunblade succeeded in nicking his side, and slicing a chunk of his bicep off. Before the pain hit the Dark Lord, however, Harry had pulled the trigger on his gunblade, causing a mild explosion of energy in the form of Harry's elemental attack junction, which at the moment happened to be Flare.

Flare, being an Ultimate spell, and a combination Fire-Ice-Electric element spell at that, was extremely devastating when cast, but even junctioned, it was no less deadly. Being channeled through a weapon meant that when it landed a successful blow, it had several effects. Firstly, it would leave second-degree burns that would blister very quickly. Secondly, it would freeze the area, chancing frostbite, and keeping blood from reaching to and from the area quickly. Muscles would get tired more quickly. Thirdly, an electric shock would course around the area, leaving electric burns, which were so much harder to deal with than heat burns, and scrambling nerve signals, resulting in the struck area being near-useless for a short time. A deep enough cut on the chest could trigger a heart attack.

The gunblade, too, was a very special weapon, capable of channeling and expelling energy in a minor explosive maneuver by pulling the trigger at the right time. Since Flare was the spell being channeled through the gunblade from Harry's elemental attack junction, the explosion was akin to a miniature Flare being cast, except Harry's stock of Flare didn't change. Extreme heat for a brief instant, followed by an arctic blast of cold, and then finished off with a severe electrical discharge.

Jumping back to not be caught in the blast, Harry smirked as Voldemort's high voice screamed in pain. "What did you DO to ME?!" Voldemort screeched, clutching his arm.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" Harry replied coolly. "All it will do is give you time to recover and figure out a way to counter it. Time to finish this!"

Harry leapt at Voldemort again, only to get hit in the gut by a high-powered, silent Bludgeoning Charm that Voldemort managed to get off before Harry could change direction. Harry winced, falling to one knee for a brief moment to recover. _That HURT. I need to keep my eye on him, he's better than I expected. I'm just lucky Voldemort couldn't summon the focus for a Killing Curse in that blow, I might've died there. I might need to start duel-wielding sword and wand. _

Voldemort took the opportunity to use a few healing charms on his injuries, almost in an instant returning him to as good as new. Even so, he watched Potter warily with a grudging respect. _Potter is rather skilled with that weapon of his. If I can just separate him from it I will have won! But that will be easier said than done. He is a wizard and can easily just Accio it back. I would have to either destroy it, or stay on the offense and keep him from having that opportunity. According to my previous encounters with James Potter, he is exceptionally skilled in Transfiguration, yet he hasn't used it once here. In fact, he hasn't used his wand at all. He has at least one trump card then. Not to mention those extraordinary creatures the children can summon. _

He spared a millisecond to glance at the children, who were watching him with hatred, and Potter with awe. _It seems though that they will be of no help to Potter, thankfully._ He looked at the raven-haired man's blue eyes. _Looks like he's ready to attack. _Voldemort readied himself for the next assault, raising his wand, his crimson eyes narrowed in focus.

"The most powerful GF…" Ultimecia's words rung with power, and both Voldemort and Harry couldn't help but look away from each other in favor seeing just what had happened. The barrier that Ultimcia had put up had blocked everything from opposite sides of the field. Sound as well as sorcery was kept outside the barrier. They had seen people's lips move to words briefly in their brief altercation, but heard nothing.

_Ultimecia must've taken down her barrier at will… or been forced to… _Harry and Voldemort thought at the same time, not knowing just how synchronized they were as they looked as one to see what had befallen her.

Ultimecia was bleeding badly, clutching her bloody right shoulder. Her legs were torn up, as were some places on her arms, and her clothes were much less regal than before. The area looked like a barren wasteland; there were ashes strewn about, which led Harry to believe either Ifrit had paid a visit, or there had been some Firagas thrown around. Squall was glowing however, and Harry recognized it as an Aura spell. _Excellent idea,_ Harry applauded mentally. _By casting Aura on Squall, he can use Renzokuken – Continuous Blade – well, continuously! And he can combine it with whatever else his new Lionheart gunblade can cook up. Not even Ultimecia could withstand a persistent assault like that, even with her magic consciously strengthening her against physical blows. With that combined with support from the others, it's a wonderfully thought out strategy. _

"You shall SUFFER!" Ultimecia spat as she started to float. Everyone just stood and watched as she prepared to bring out some trump card.

"You IDIOTS!" Harry bellowed. "Kill her and be done with it!"

But it was too late. By the time Irvine had aimed his gun, by the time Squall had tensed for a lunge, by the time Rinoa's magic was ready… Ultimecia finished the summoning. "GRIEVER!" A white ball of light shot downwards from her hands into the ground, and Harry had a very bad feeling about this.

Rinoa and Squall looked shocked at the name. "But Squall, that's the name of your ring!" Rinoa exclaimed confusedly, holding said ring. She had been wearing it on a necklace for some time now.

Harry frowned. He had the feeling that the correlation of Squall's ring and Ultimecia's GF was somehow very important. Even so, there was no time to contemplate it; the ground was shaking, and Griever would be here any moment.

As if the thought itself summoned the GF, a purple light erupted from the ground, and a black humanoid beast climbed its way out. Five times the size of a normal human, it had thick, smooth-looking black fur – though there was a band of white that went horizontally around the torso – and a tail twice as long as its legs. The tail itself was thin, and had a fan-like end to it that shone razor-sharp. Its head was similar to a canine's, and while it too was black, the color scheme changed as it grew a turquoise-hued beard over its neck. Jutting upwards from Griever's head in an almost crown-like formation were five jagged red spikes. Also, on Griever's arms were two large blade-like protrusions held similarly to a twin-dagger style.

As soon as it was on its feet, it leapt into the air, wings that had been unnoticed until now unfurling and beating steadily, keeping Griever in the air. The skeletal structure of the wings followed the typical black of his body, but the feathers themselves had that same shade of turquoise that the beard did, though they faded to white near the bottom.

A CRACK! brought Harry's attention back to Voldemort, only to see that he'd Disapparated, and reappeared flying several meters beside Griever. Harry rushed over to help the others face this new double-threat, trying to figure out how to face two flying, extremely powerful enemies.

"Where have I seen feathers of that color before?" Harry heard Squall mutter under his breath from beside him. "A dream…?"

_Come to think of it, they do look familiar. And why does that pattern of black with a white band right THERE look so familiar?_ He turned to Squall to ask if he'd seen it, only to do a double-take. That was Squall's style! Squall's jacket was black, with a white ruff at exactly the same place on Squall's torso as the white was on Griever's!

The connection was made. _Griever is the future Squall!_ Harry realized. _Just as Odin turned into a Guardian Force, so did the future Squall. And those feathers! Those are feathers from when Rinoa unleashes her Sorceress power! But… does that mean that Rinoa and Squall merged together in the future to form a Guardian Force? Or…_ Harry turned horror-filled eyes to Ultimecia, who was back in her throne to watch the fireworks._ Could it be? We'll deal with it later. _

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by an irritable Guardian Force of his own. _:Potter! Bring me forth! I wish to test my strength!:_ Bahamut roared.

Harry was about to refuse, but then paused. _If I summon Bahamut, not only will it get him out of my hair for a bit, but he's strong enough to help defeat Griever… alright, Bahamut, show him what you got!_ "Guys, hold Griever back for a minute, I'm summoning Bahamut to help." As he had never summoned Bahamut before, Harry's body was unfamiliar with Bahamut's unique energy. This unfamiliarity resulted in a longer-than-usual summoning time, and while summoning the user cannot move.

"Bahamut?" Squall asked with a smirk. "Powerful ally you have there. Zell! Cast Aura on us, and Rinoa, use spells as you see fit. Selphie, you're support. We'll bring him down!"

"Aura!" Zell cried, thrusting his arm forward, palm outstretched as his body trembled from the use of the Ultimate level spell. Both Zell and Squall started glowing yellow underneath their skin, and Harry saw the maniacal grin on Zell's face.

Rinoa looked almost as though she were dancing as she twirled, her wings not corporeal enough to interfere with her movement, but still translucently visible. She too was glowing lightly, only hers was bluish-white from Sorceress power. She was casting spell after spell, throwing enormous fireballs and ice javelins to calling massive lightning bolts from the sky, which was darkening quickly. Voldemort took to very quickly dodging them in mid-air, eyes bugged out as he stared at the Sorceress whose power appeared to exceed his own.

Griever, however, was largely unaffected. The fire he let wash over him, and the barest tips of his fur looked burned. The ice shattered on contact with him, causing minor cuts, and the lightning, after the blinding light dissipated, Griever's body smoked a bit, but was, again, hardly injured.

"Renzokuken!" Squall cried, leaping up at Griever, who finally reacted to the physical threat. Griever launched a fist at him, and Squall's blade matched the blade on Griever's arm. However, the match was only for a moment, as Squall used it as support to propel himself feet-first at Griever's exposed chest. He twisted around and began slicing and dicing at Griever. After ten fast, powerful blows, he jumped off and hung in the air for a moment. "Fated Circle!" He spun once completely around, very quickly moving his gunblade 360 degrees. The circle caused a shockwave that hit Griever directly in the gut, knocking him backwards.

"Duel!" Zell yelled, deciding to pick up where Squall left off. He jumped on and started punching where Squall had been slicing. After calling out several different attacks and performing them, he too jumped into the air, apparently for a finishing move. "Meteor Punch!" He held his hands back at his right side, cupping them together, allowing a red, crackling electrical energy appear within them. Then, apparently kicking off the air itself, he threw himself back at Griever's head, hand outstretched with the deadly-looking attack. It struck, hard, and Griever found himself on the ground once more, outstretched.

"I summon the King of Dragons, Bahamut! Mega Flare!" Harry bellowed, the summoning finally complete. Bahamut flew out of the thunderclouds overhead, his mouth open as a deadly off-white orb gained power within it.

"No!" Ultimecia yelled. "Griever! Make them bleed! Shockwave Pulsar!"

Griever took to the air and looked up at Bahamut with an angry expression on his face. With several mighty wingbeats, they were level, and Griever glowed with a purple light. Then, at once, both Bahamut and Griever unleashed their most powerful attacks.

The orb in Bahamut's mouth became a beam of unbelievable power, while Griever unleashed several miniature purple shockwaves directly at Bahamut, disrupting the beam, and causing a blinding explosion.

When the light cleared… Griever's head was falling… and Bahamut's body dissipated into particles of light, which collected around Harry before disappearing. Ultimecia seemed shocked, and her body glowed with Sorceress power as she prepared to do something, when all of a sudden she held her head in agony. "No! What are you doing!"

"Taking your body, and your power!" Tom Riddle's voice spat, from Ultimecia's mouth. The locket she wore glowed an evil, sickening green; the green of the Killing Curse, and everyone, even the corporeal Voldemort, was shocked at this new turn of events. "With your power, I can rule!"

"This is my body!" Ultimecia argued, clutching her head painfully tightly. "I've worked too hard for this!"

"Not anymore! Thanks to your drawing on my power, I was able to take over!" And with that, Ultimecia's hands slowly returned to her sides, and her head rose up to stare everyone in the eye. No longer were her eyes that crystalline blue of before, but now, the same blood-soaked crimson of the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"I am Lord Voldemort!" Ultimecia-turned-Voldemort crowed.

"Wrong! There can only be ONE Lord Voldemort, and that is me!" Voldemort-in-his-own-body declared. They turned to face off, each pair of eyes glowing red with murder.

_Earth, Scotland, Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office_

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, mentally preparing himself for his next feat of magic while waiting for everyone to arrive. He had been awake all night, modifying his Locator Ritual to not simply implant the location into his head, but to create a visual display of the subject. Existing scrying spells would have worked, if Potter's group had been on Earth, but only his Locator Ritual had succeeded in finding Potter whilst on Terra, so it was his only base to work from.

Finally, he believed he had succeeded shortly before lunch, proving his prowess as a Grand Sorcerer with an immense understanding of magic. He had requested the attendance of Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. Severus was still under the Unbreakable Vow of Loyalty, and McGonagall was Miss Granger's Head of House. With any luck, she would be able to provide another opinion, and help curb Miss Granger. This, Dumbledore felt, would be an immense help to guiding Potter. He was sure it was her intelligence that aided Potter in getting around his Memory Charms.

_Although, _he thought, _it is rather odd that Potter managed to get around the latest one… I could have sworn I destroyed those memories, not just cut him off from them. Perhaps he has a Pensieve he recovered them from. _He made a mental note to have Severus peruse Potter's belongings.

Dumbledore was broken from his musings when the door knocked. His peripheral Legilimency identified them as the Heads of Slytherin and Gryffindor. "Come in, Minerva, Severus."

Naturally, Minerva cut to the chase. "Albus, just what is going on? We have six students who are, quite simply, missing since yesterday, and absolutely nothing has been done!"

"Indeed, Headmaster," Severus agreed in a deferential tone. "Potter," he spat, "and his friends have been gone for approximately fifteen hours now. Do you have any knowledge of where they are?"

"I do."

"Then why don't we fetch them now and punish them for leaving school grounds for so long?" Minerva asked, with a slightly calmer tone.

"Alas, we cannot," Dumbledore responded, his tone betraying his own frustration. "They are in a location that none of us can access."

"Then how did they get in?" Minerva asked curiously. "What's blocking us? Fidelius?"

Dumbledore laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, if only it were that simple."

Minerva's eyes widened. The Fidelius Charm was a ridiculously complex, powerful piece of magic. "What? Where are they?"

"Quite simply… they are in another dimension."

Minerva suddenly felt quite weak, and conjured a chair to sit down in. Severus sat down next to her in an already existing chair. "How can that be?" Minerva inquired. She noticed how quiet Severus had been, and glanced at him accusingly. "You don't look at all surprised. Just what is going on here?!"

Severus shared a look at Dumbledore, who nodded, granting him permission. "I am not surprised, Minerva, because I was there when Albus modified Potter's memories of the other dimension at the beginning of his first year."

"WHAT?!" Minerva screeched, standing up again.

"Calm down, Minerva," Dumbledore ordered firmly. "It was necessary. He was antagonistic, distrusting of any authority, and had a mindset of destroying all obstacles in his way of power. He even had enough power to put Severus in the hospital after a brief argument. He was dangerously close to becoming another Tom Riddle, and one is more than enough."

Minerva paled and once again sat down. After a few moments to absorb the information, she looked up at Dumbledore. "This has something to do with why he left last year for that brief time. You said he had been possessed by You-Know-Who, but he hadn't, had he? And why he left this time?"

"No," Dumbledore confirmed, elated at the opportunity to improve his image as a wise old man. "I had removed the Memory Charm to see if he would understand why I had done it, and to test if he would remain loyal to his friends," he continued, lying through his teeth. "After all, if Voldemort returns, the power he gained in the other dimension would prove an enormous advantage. Much to my disappointment, he was… extremely hostile and jumped out my window. I caught him with Fawkes and modified his memory again, this time binding his power somewhat so he would be on par with most of his peers. Similarities always help friendships, and his power will be unbound when his memories are returned to him and he remains relatively stable. It will also aid me in subduing him if he continues to react negatively to regaining his memories. He somehow broke the Memory Charm this time and escaped."

Minerva, who had opened her mouth to protest the binding of power, shut her mouth when she heard Albus's reasons. Severus took the opportunity to speak. "Returning to the point, if Potter and his friends are in this other dimension… how do we get them back?"

"That, Severus, is still unknown. But we may gain some clues by seeing what they are doing," Dumbledore informed. "To that end, I have modified a ritual I created to allow a mirror to show us exactly what they are doing. I am assuming they are all together, and I have an old possession of Mr. Potter's to center the spell to them. I ask that you two witness the ritual, not only to view Mr. Potter and his friends, but to ensure that I gain medical attention if it goes wrong," he said seriously.

"I understand," both Minerva and Severus said together.

Dumbledore stood. "Then let's start, shall we?"

_Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room_

Both Squall's and Harry's groups had banded together to discuss their next plan, everyone keeping an eye and an ear on the pair of bickering Dark Lords.

"This is bad!" Theo murmured. "One was bad enough, now there's two?!"

Ginny was shaking. "Two Tom Riddles…" She looked positively terrified, and Harry couldn't blame her. Being possessed by Tom Riddle and nearly dying in the Chamber of Secrets was probably her worst memory.

"I think we should continue the attack," Selphie proposed.

Zell nodded. "We can't afford to retreat and let Voldemecia learn how to control his, er, her power. What's the right pronoun for a guy in a girl's body?"

_An interesting conundrum,_ Harry thought wildly, sidetracked by the odd question. _The body is female, and it IS Sorceress power, which inherently belongs to females. On the other hand, the personality in charge right now associates itself with the male sex…_ "Voldemecia is a he, I suppose," Harry responded absently, "but that's not important right now."

"We should attack now, while they're arguing," Squall suggested coldly, chancing a glance over at the angry faces of Voldemecia and Voldemort.

"It won't be that easy," Daphne stated flatly, shaking her head. "The second we attack, they'll team up until we're dead, and then finish the score between them."

"The best solution would be to let them fight each other and kill whoever is left," Harry agered, keeping his eyes on the pair. "However, if we let them continue talking, they could also team up against us."

"I do not think it likely they will team up easily," Blaise suggested slowly.

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked as all eyes turned to the broad-shouldered youth.

"Tom Riddle is too full of pride," Blaise said matter-of-factly. "Neither will submit to the other, each believing himself to be stronger. Their confrontation is inevitable."

"Makes sense to me," Irvine replied with a cocky lilt to his voice. "So we let them fight, and kill the winner, right?"

"Wrong." Now everyone turned to Squall as he held his gunblade, ready for a fight. "Ultimecia was insanely strong even without the powers and knowledge of Voldemort."

Harry nodded, knowing where Squall was going with this. "I have an idea. Stay back."

Earth, Scotland, Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office

Dumbledore finally completed the ritual, almost exhausted from the ritual, but elated at the success. He now had a very large mirror – 10 feet wide by 7 feet tall – hanging in mid-air behind him, which would be showing Mr. Potter, and hopefully, his friends. Thankfully, he had included audio in the ritual, so they could hear what was being said as well. He pulled up a chair next to Minerva and Severus, and sat down to watch.

"I see all of our missing students except Mr. Potter," Minerva stated, "and they're with several adults I don't recognize."

"Potter!" Severus gasped. "James Potter!"

"WHAT?!" both Dumbledore and Minerva gasped, and Snape pointed. Indeed, the likeness of James Potter was there, except he was wielding a very familiar weapon…

"No," Snape amended. "Unless I am quite mistaken, we are looking at an older version of Harry Potter. James was older than that at his death, and the younger Potter used that weapon against me when I took him through Diagon Alley before his first year. I believe he called it a gunblade."

Both nodded. "Shush," Dumbledore whispered, as audio began to come through.

_"This is bad!" Nott stated. "One was bad enough, now there's two?!"_

"Two whats, I wonder…" Minerva murmured.

"Shut up and we'll find out," Severus snapped.

_Weasley was shaking. "Two Tom Riddles…"_

There was silence in the office, as the words washed over them. All three Professors went ashen, the blood draining from their faces as the words' true meaning hit them. Severus silently sent a spell at himself to ensure his heart kept beating.

Dumbledore, ever the eloquent old man, said it best: "Well, fuck." _How in the seven bloody hells did a SECOND Voldemort come to be?!_

In the time it took them to recover, they had missed a few seconds of conversation.

_"We should attack now, while they're arguing," said the man with a scar across his face and a gunblade in hand._

Dumbledore perked up considerably. "The two do not get along? That is good. It'd be impossible to win against two working together."

_"It won't be that easy," Greengrass stated flatly, shaking her head. "The second we attack, they'll team up until we're dead, and then finish the score between them." _

Severus nodded. "She's got a point. The Dark Lord is nothing if not practical."

Minerva paused. "Then shouldn't they just wait for one to finish the other?"

_"The best solution would be to let them fight each other and kill whoever is left," Potter agreed with Greengrass. "However, if we let them continue talking, they could also team up against us."_

"A difficult choice," Dumbledore muttered. "What will you do, Mr. Potter?"

"_I do not think it likely they will team up easily," Zabini suggested slowly. _

_"What do you mean?" the woman dressed in blue with long, ebony hair asked as all eyes turned to the broad-shouldered youth. _

_"Tom Riddle is too full of pride," Zabini said matter-of-factly. "Neither will submit to the other, each believing himself to be stronger. Their confrontation is inevitable."_

Dumbledore smiled once again, the twinkle in his eyes reviving somewhat at the reminder of Tom Riddle's nature. His colleagues looked much relieved as well.

_"Makes sense to me," the man in a yellowish trench-coat replied with a cocky lilt to his voice. "So we let them fight, and kill the winner, right?" _

_"Wrong." Now everyone turned to the man with the scar as he held his gunblade, ready for a fight. "Ultimecia was insanely strong even without the powers and knowledge of Voldemort."_

"Who is this Ultimecia?" Minerva asked. "And where is he going with this?"

"We'd all like to know. Now shut up!" Severus, naturally.

_Potter nodded, apparently understanding. "I have an idea. Stay back."_

_Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room_

"What're you doing?!" Hermione hissed, but Harry was no longer paying attention. Instead he started walking purposely, slowly towards the two Dark Lords. They immediately stopped arguing and faced him with identical sets of demonically red eyes.

"What're you doing, Potter?!" Voldemort spat.

"Potter, you say?" Voldemecia asked. "Any relation of James Potter?"

"Fool, that IS James Potter!" Voldemort returned nastily.

"Voldemort…" Harry began.

"Which one?!" they asked in unison, glaring at each other.

"The one in his own body. I propose an alliance."

--

Oh, now if that's not a cliffhanger, then I don't know what is! Hope the fight scene didn't sound too forced... this took me FOREVER to finish, as I haven't played this far into the game, and I had to do a lot of research about it. Then I had to make it unique - not just another filler chappie - and the fight scenes kept feeling off. It took me until this last week to realize 'Hey, wait, I kinda need Dumbledore to see what's going on!' The rest flowed pretty easily, thankfully. I DID think of an Omake after one of the scenes, though. For all you Highlander fans!

Omake: Highlander-style!

"I am Lord Voldemort!" Ultimecia-turned-Voldemort crowed.

"Wrong! I am!" the Voldemort that inhabited his own body declared.

They glared at each other, and then each conjured a blade. "There can be only one!" they cried together, and after a spectacular sword-fight, they cut off each other's heads. It was a draw from which there would be no rematch.

Harry blinked. "… There can be only one?" And then the bodies of Voldemort glowed bright white, and the light flew into Harry, who screamed as new power coursed through his veins. "I… I can see everything! I am immortal! I can do anything! Oh God, I understand everything!"

And then, his screaming ceased. "Are you ok?" Theo asked.

"Yeah… I'm ok," Harry murmured, catching his breath. "That was weird."

"Did you really see and understand everything?" Hermione asked jealously.

"Yeah. Can't remember a thing now though," Harry added flippantly.

"Grrrrrrrrrr!" Hermione growled as she started hurling hexes at Harry for being so selfish as to forget everything from his moment of enlightenment.


	11. Dreams, Nightmares, Everything Between

Hey everyone, I'm back! Man, this chapter fought me just about every step of the way! Anyway, a few things to answer.

nxkris mentioned that Harry spent a long, long time traveling Terra previously, so why didn't he have more than just Quetz, GF-wise? Harry didn't bother collecting any of them, as he wasn't sure what would happen to them when he transferred back to Earth. Besides, he was a bit preoccupied with finding Odin.

Next, mountainelements. You asked why it was rated M? I rated it that way just for safety, cuz there will eventually be some lemons. Not yet, but eventually. There are also some disturbing themes that I have in mind for later installments. Also, you're absolutely right, I spaced about Harry changing the password to the Chamber, I'll go back and fix that soon.

There are too many reviews for me to answer them all... but I've only now noticed just how popular my story is becoming. It seems like I get a new author, story and/or favorite story alert every day! I'm honored, guys. Thanks for your reviews!

Disclaimer: I'm posting here, what does that say about my owning of Harry Potter? I don't!

--

Chapter 10 – Dreams, Nightmares, Everything Between

_Earth, Scotland, Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office_

_"I propose an alliance."_

Minerva turned ash-grey. _Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, is allying with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?! Is he out for vengeance against the one who held him back? Are we now dealing with not only two Lord Voldemorts, but a Dark Lord Potter? _

Severus was now very glad he had had the forethought to cast the spell to ensure his heart kept beating. _I knew that when it comes to Harry Potter, life is full of shocks, but first there are TWO Dark Lords, and now an alliance?!_ He looked at Dumbledore, half-hoping that the old man would die of a heart attack himself.

No such luck. Albus Dumbledore was shocked, but then his eyes narrowed. _I should have guessed…_ Not for nothing was he the grandmaster, and the leader of the war against Voldemort during his first rising. _The ancient battle strategy of divide and conquer… well played. _

_Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room_

"I propose an alliance."

The silence following that statement was deafening. Even the wind seemed still as Harry assessed the reaction on Voldemort's face. For a moment, he even seemed human, as his murderous crimson eyes faded in intensity and his face reflected sheer astonishment.

The fragment of Tom Riddle's soul in the locket knew immediately that Voldemort would accept the no-doubt temporary alliance, if only to remove the locket from Ultimecia. By removing the locket, Ultimecia would immediately fall unconscious, and Tom Riddle would be once again helpless, anchoring Voldemort to the mortal plain. _No! This cannot happen! I refuse to go back to sitting helplessly for all eternity! _Voldemecia threw up his arm and drew on the immense power of the Sorceress he inhabited. "Avada Kedavra!"

Unfortunately for him, Harry was well aware that Voldemecia would attack him once the implications set in, and dove to the left and back out of the way of the Killing Curse with his junction-enhanced speed. He rolled to his feet once again and shot out his left hand – the one not holding his gunblade. "Firaga!" As a testament to Harry's prowess with this particular spell, it was not as most people expect. Instead of the absolutely enormous fireball three times the size of Hagrid as most SeeD would expect, this one was only moderate size – approximately as tall and as wide as Hagrid himself - but its color was not the reddish orange of most fire. No, Harry had condensed the fire, making it burn brighter and hotter… this fire was blue. As a result of the reduced size as well, it shot forward much faster than a normal Firaga would.

Voldemecia drew on Ultimecia's Sorceress powers once more, discovering the way to deal with this threat. "Reflect!" The incredibly hot blue flames licked at Ultimecia's body even as the ruby crystalline barrier appeared to protect him. It was a close thing, but the Reflect spell managed to redirect the Firaga back towards Harry. However, the Reflect spell had broken in the process.

Harry smirked, and dashed into the intensely magical flames. Thanks to his junctions, the magical fire that engulfed him was hot, but not so hot as to burn him if he left quickly. Let's do it! He ran low to the ground, his sword held parallel to the ground at his right, and erupted from the flames. Far too fast for Voldemecia's liking, Harry was suddenly right in front of her, and his gunblade was coming around to slice Ultimecia's body in two!

_:No! I will not let this happen!:_ Ultimecia's voice echoed in her head. Suddenly her arms rose outside of the locket Horcrux's will. "Protect!"

Harry gunblade slammed into a sudden magical barrier designed against physical damage, jarring his arm from the sudden stop of momentum. In the few milliseconds that followed, he looked up and saw Ultimecia's natural eyes, not Voldemort's blood red. _Oh fuck._

"Ultima!"

_Make that a double-fuck._ That was Harry's last thought before the non-elemental orb of destruction slammed into him and carried him into the stone wall. The spell expanded into an enormous sphere, and then imploded with Harry within. He fell to the ground, breathing heavily in pain as he bled from several lacerations. _Ow. That REALLY hurt._

"Curaga!" a voice rang out, and Harry suddenly felt completely restored. He looked up and his friends had surrounded him. Rinoa smiled at him, obviously the source of the healing spell.

"Thanks guys…" Harry murmured as he got up. He dusted himself off. "Time to show you just how I got my reputation around here." He glanced at Voldemort, who had stepped back so as not to be involved in the confrontation. Voldemort, feeling Harry's sight upon him, looked back steadily, calculatingly.

_He's withholding judgment… he probably wants to finish us both off when we're tired. _Harry had expected no less. _I knew that was a possibility once I proposed the alliance. Voldemort can't stand the idea of James Potter somehow still living. However, if I'm about to take out one of the worst threats to his power, he won't interfere._ He smiled predatorily. _Perfect._

Harry refocused his sights on Ultimecia – who had apparently healed herself during the small respite – and prepared himself for attack. Ultimecia met his gaze steadily and straightened, summoning her Sorceress power once again.

_Within Ultimecia's Head_

"How strange…" Tom Riddle's voice echoed within the bizarre mindscape of the Sorceress. He was in a green field, with clear blue skies. Behind him was a simple black door, standing on its own. However, once Tom took a second look, the door had something engraved on it. Tom leaned in to peer at it, and recognized it as the accursed locket that had held him for all these years.

"Hmm… if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that door would take me back into the locket." Of course, Tom had no inclination to return anytime in the near future. "Might as well take a look around."

Tom stepped away from the door and looked around. The field was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direct – "Wait! What's that?" He could see something in the distance, something quite large if it was as far as it looked… _which may or may not be the case, given the abilities of magic,_ Tom admitted.

Not wanting to risk alerting Ultimecia to the fact that he was in her head, Tom didn't dare use magic to get himself to the phenomenon. He began walking.

_Earth, Scotland, Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office_

Albus, Severus and Minerva were practically sitting on the edge of their seats, watching as Harry Potter's own fireball was shot back at him, and then gaping as the Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Die reappeared from within the flames and prepared to turn his opponent into sashimi.

_"Protect!"_

While Severus and Minerva were staring with eyes wide at the sudden magical barrier appearing at the last possible moment, Dumbledore was watching Potter's face. He alone saw the glimpse of recognition within Potter's eyes.

"_Ultima!"_

Severus watched as Potter was blasted into the wall and then imploded upon by the enormous power of Ultima. "That… is a truly terrifying spell."

_No… Tom Riddle would not have used that spell. He would have used the Cruciatus, to make Potter kneel in pain at his feet at such close range. He has already proven that he can use the Killing Curse wandlessly in that body, so why has his tastes changed? _"Something is wrong," Albus suddenly said. "Mr. Potter is facing two or more entities in the same body."

"What?" Minerva gasped.

"Look at how that woman is standing now. Her stance was different before that Protect spell. Before, when Riddle was in control, his right arm was raised as though he were holding a wand lazily. His elbow was bent for maximum wand mobility while also appearing regal and more powerful," Albus pointed out. "Now, she is using both arms, and both are straight out. I think the original owner of that body is back in control."

"The question is," Severus began, watching as Potter was healed by the raven-haired woman in blue, "is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

_Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room_

"Flare!" Ultimecia screamed at Harry, who once again just let it hit him. His elemental defense junction was being pressed to its limit by the extreme power in the Fire-Ice-Electric spell.

Harry spent a moment gathering his own spell. "Quake!" The spell made the entire castle shudder and groan, and the rocks they stood on shook. However, instead of knocking the Sorceress off balance, she just started floating in the air with a silent Float spell. With a growl, Harry cast one on himself as well, barely dodging the Pain spell sent his way next.

Harry rushed at Ultimecia and swung his gunblade again, diagonally to the left and down. "Protect!" Ultimecia cast, using the same defense as before. However, this time, Harry was prepared, and pulled the trigger on his gunblade at the exact moment before it hit. With Flare still junctioned to his elemental attack, the energy explosion affected Ultimecia's lower left arm and hand even though Harry's gunblade did not connect. As before with Voldemort, Ultimecia's skin was burned, then frozen and electrified. Blood would not flow as quickly as before into the area, and she would have trouble using it for a time.

Ultimecia glared daggers at Harry, who merely smirked, having jumped back after landing his attack. "Next time don't just use a physical defense against a gunblade!" he mocked.

"Gravija!" Ultimecia retaliated, and Harry cursed as the spell, being of an area affect, caught him and multiplied gravity on him, sending him to his knees and making it harder for him to breath for a precious few seconds.

"Regen!" Harry cast on himself, feeling his tendons and bones begin to knit and heal, giving him the strength to get out of the field of effect just fast enough to avoid a Death spell that would have hit him in the face. "I refuse to die here!" Harry yelled as he felt that familiar energy once more surging through him. _Limit Break!_ He raised his gunblade, and then brought out one of the first Limit Breaks he had ever used. "Shining Star!" He cut five times in the shape of a five-pointed star, and each slash created an enormous blood red wave of energy.

Ultimecia managed to dodge the first one, but the second wave clipped her in the ankle. She stumbled, and the other three hit her straight on, leaving deep lacerations on her torso. She fell to her knees bleeding heavily, and brought up her magic. "Curaga! Regen!"

However, the few seconds needed for the powerful Sorceress to cast the two Advanced spells were more than enough for Harry to continue his onslaught. Ultimecia saw a shadow cover her, and looked up in time to see Harry descending from above, his gunblade held across his body in such a way that he could make an extremely wide – and undoubtedly lethal – horizontal slash.

Ultimecia now was in a very dangerous quandary – if she used Protect, Potter would trigger the gunblade's special explosive ability again. If she used Shell, then Potter could simply cut her in half. There wasn't enough time for any magical attack powerful enough to halt him, and she highly doubted that this powerful warrior wouldn't have taken steps against being afflicted by status ailments.

_No choice._ Ethereal pure white wings sprouted from Ultimecia's back as she jumped backwards, flapping once to give her the extra boost she needed to evade Potters's slash.

Harry landed on his knees and looked up with a grimace and narrowed eyes. _I knew it._ He stood up and looked directly into Ultimecia's eyes. "That confirms my suspicions then… Rinoa." The brief flash of emotion that Harry gleaned from Ultimecia using Legilimency only confirmed it further.

"I should have known you'd recognize me, Harry." Ultimecia said with a depreciating laugh.

"Wait!" Voldemort roared in fury. "You're _**Harry**_ Potter?!"

Harry returned his eyes and scar to normal and nodded at the Dark Lord with a smirk. "Yep. Sure had you fooled. Seriously, you killed my father personally. How did you ever think I was him?"

Voldemort, with much effort, reigned in his rage and merely scowled. "Well played, I must admit," he said grudgingly. "You played on your resemblance to your father, used some sort of Aging Potion to look similar to when I killed him, and then used an illusion to hide your scar and eye color. The shock of seeing my foe supposedly alive again despite my Killing Curse led me to make assumptions about what I could expect from you, only to be continually surprised. A very cunning plan, worthy of Slytherin himself."

Harry bowed lightly in his direction. "Why, thank you. That means a great deal, coming from the Heir of Slytherin himself." He turned to Ultimecia. "Tell me, why are you doing this? Why Time Compression?"

Ultimecia's eyes hardened and she opened her mouth to answer… and then fell to the ground, screaming.

_In Ultimecia's Head_

"Finally!" Tom muttered. It felt like it had been days in this never-changing world, but he had made it to what he had seen earlier. It was an enormous door, almost twenty feet tall, obviously not well taken care of. It was splintering and seemed very flimsy. Whole chunks of it had apparently been ripped off and hastily repaired. A much worn symbol of infinity was engraved on the door itself, and Tom sat down to contemplate what it meant.

"Infinity? Maybe eternal life?" Frustrated, Tom got back up. "What am I doing?! I am the Dark Lord Voldemort! Feared by all! I'm going to break down this door, no matter what's behind it! I am the strongest!" With that, he whipped out his wand. "Bombarda!"

The door shattered, and almost before he knew it, Tom was swept up in a maelstrom of magic.

Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room

Ultimecia's screams of pain heightened in pitch and intensity as a royal purple magic leaked out of her, forming a constantly shifting aura. Voldemort and Harry both took steps back, wands at the ready. "Potter! You know more about this world than I, what's going on?!" Voldemort yelled over the screams, noting curiously that Ultimecia almost appeared under the Cruciatus Curse, as she writhed and screamed.

"Don't know yet!" Harry was quickly assessing all the possible options, and then had the bright idea of using Scan. He quickly jabbed his wand at Ultimecia. _Scan!_

_Ultimecia (Rinoa Heartilly)_

_Weapon of choice: Magic_

_Ultimecia, a future form of Rinoa, has developed her Sorceress powers to heights heretofore unseen by SeeD, allowing her to manipulate the fabric of space and time. However, the cost for this power appears to have been costly – her Sorceress power is now so potent, that Ultimecia's body and mind cannot handle channeling large quantities of it for any significant length of time. _

_Due to unknown reasons, Sorceress power is overflowing from her body, and is super-charging her nervous system to the point where everything, including her own internal body movements, are excruciatingly painful. Approaching Ultimecia is extremely unwise – the Sorceress magic surrounding her is extremely chaotic and malevolent, and will likely strike at anyone and anything within reach. _

_Special Abilities_

_Sorceress Power – a seemingly unlimited supply of magic_

_Threat level – 70_

While Harry was absorbing this information, Voldemort's patience for the woman's screams had reached its limit. It was hurting his ears, and while he enjoyed torturing others, it was only fun if one gave the victim just enough of a respite not to go insane, just enough to make the victim beg for mercy or death. "Enough of your screaming, woman! Avada Kedavra!"

"No!" Harry's warning came too late. Voldemort's sickly green Killing Curse rocketed at Ultimecia, and impacted the aura. To Voldemort's surprise, the aura absorbed the spell. To Harry's shock, the aura appeared to do nothing else to retaliate… until he noticed that the hairs on his body were standing straight up. _Static electricity. That means… lightning!_ Harry dove to the side, just in time as an enormous lightning strike lanced the ground where he'd been just a moment before. While he was supposedly immune to magically charged elemental attacks thanks to his numerous junctioned Reflect spells, it eventually came down to how strong the attack was. Theoretically, enough magic in an attack could overwhelm his resistance, and against the virtually unlimited amount available to a Sorceress, Harry didn't feel like chancing it.

Hoping that Voldemort had been caught in a similar lightning strike, Harry looked at where he had last seen the Dark Lord, only to see him leaning backwards, wand held straight up to support a shield, against which lightning was striking repeatedly. _So much for lightning never striking the same place twice, _Harry quipped mentally. He looked back at the Sorceress magic, noting that Ultimecia had finally gone silent. Whether that was from her throat being too damaged to work, she'd lost consciousness, or if her mind had finally snapped, Harry was unsure.

The dark violet-hued magic had sent three tendrils towards Voldemort – one tendril in the center with one to the left and one to the right. Harry frowned, especially as the tendrils started doing something. The center created an orb of electricity, while the one on the left created a fiery sphere. _Wait, this is too familiar._ Finally, to Harry's horrified realization, the one on the right conjured an orb of water. _It's creating a portal spell! Where is it trying to send Voldemort? It doesn't matter, I can't let it send him somewhere where he can gain strength and God knows what kind of powers! _

Harry gathered his magic, preparing to do what most would call unbelievably stupid. Raw magic, when being shaped, was extremely hazardous to disrupt, often causing some sort of magical backlash, usually explosions of sheer, nigh-irreversible chaos. The more powerful the magic, the more dangerous causing a disruption was. The creation of wands and magical foci on Earth negated much of the danger, as the magic was then shaped within the wands themselves before being released. It was actually this danger that prompted the creation of staves, which over time evolved into the modern day wand – too many people had lost control of their magic when shaping it for some powerful spell.

_Portal magic is incredibly powerful, especially powered by the Sorceress magic. I hope I live through this,_ Harry thought to himself grimly. _With luck, both Ultimecia and Voldemort will be killed. Now I have to wait for the opportune moment…_ No sooner had he thought it, but the purplish vortex of swirling portal energy started to manifest. _Now! _Harry thrust his gunblade into the ground and threw both arms forward, palms extended outwards. Adrenaline and magic coursed through him, his body shaking from the sheer power of the spell he was calling. "ULTIMA!"

Earth, Scotland, Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office

Albus, Severus and Minerva were watching with wide eyes, gaping jaws, on the edge of their seats and they watched the two powerhouses go at it. When they saw Ultimecia narrowly avoid Harry's would-be-lethal slash by sprouting wings, the Transfiguration Professor shook her head. "No wonder he was never astonished by anything… Harry must have seen…"

"…and fought!" Severus interjected.

"… and fought," Minerva conceded, "things beyond even our imagination."

"He is quite formidable," Albus agreed with a frown hidden by his beard. _Too formidable. He would give Tom or I quite a fight. I wonder why he did not try to assert his superiority here at Hogwarts, instead of stealthily trying to go around under my nose?_

_"That confirms my suspicions then… Rinoa."_

"Rinoa?" Severus murmured. "How does he know her? And how did he not recognize her until now?"

"Hush, Severus, and we may find out," Albus chided.

_"I should have known you'd recognize me, Harry." _

_"Wait!" Voldemort roared in fury. "You're Harry Potter?!" _

_"Yep. Sure had you fooled. Seriously, you killed my father personally. How did you ever think I was him?"_

Minerva stifled a laugh behind a cough, while Severus was aghast at Potter's cheek. Albus's eyes twinkled in amusement, and calculation. _Well, at least I don't need to worry about them teaming up against me. _

_"Well played, I must admit," Voldemort grudgingly stated. "You played on your resemblance to your father, used some sort of Aging Potion to look similar to when I killed him, and then used an illusion to hide your scar and eye color. The shock of seeing my foe supposedly alive again despite my Killing Curse led me to make assumptions about what I could expect from you, only to be continually surprised. A very cunning plan, worthy of Slytherin himself."_

The Professors watched Potter bow lightly in his direction. _"Why, thank you. That means a great deal, coming from the Heir of Slytherin himself." Potter turned to Rinoa. "Tell me, why are you doing this? Why Time Compression?"_

Suddenly, the audio cut off, and the visual wavered. Taking the opportunity to learn more of what was going on, Minerva turned to Albus only to see his rapidly paling face. "What's Time Compression?" Severus listened even as his eyes continued to scan the wavering magical image.

"It's an ancient idea," Albus began hesitatingly. "I myself have only heard of it once or twice in my entire lifetime, and both of them were when I was searching for ways to stop Grindelwald. As you know, Time-Turners allow people to travel back in time to a limited extent. However, Time Compression is based on the idea of pulling two times together so they, and all the time in between, exist at once." He conjured a feather, and then burnt it. "If we were to compress the time from my conjuration to the burning, that feather would have both been burnt and not burnt at once, trapped in a flux from moment to moment based on our perception of it."

"A dangerous idea," Minerva whispered.

"Exceedingly," Albus agreed. "In Time Compression, just about anything you can dream up could be possible. For instance, there could be two, three, or even an infinite number of anyone as there are an infinite number of instances between two times. I could exist as a babe, a teenager, in my prime, or even on my deathbed, depending on my own perception. Death itself could be undone as it both happened and did not happen. As it's never happened in our world – and I hope it never does happen – we have no idea. I would hazard a guess, however, that it is due to Time Compression that Voldemort regained his body. It would explain why we never found it after the Potters were killed."

"Albus!" Severus exclaimed, and both Albus and Minerva turned their attention back to the mirror that was showing Harry's battle on Terra.

"What'd we miss?" Albus asked urgently.

"This Rinoa person started screaming and collapsed, purple magic started leaking everywhere, and the Dark Lord tried to kill her. The Killing Curse was absorbed, not rebounded, and then the purple magic retaliated. Potter just dodged a lightning bolt, and the Dark Lord is magically shielding himself from repeated lightning strikes," Severus summarized.

"What are those purple tendrils of magic doing?" Minerva asked, pointing out the three portions of magic making their way to Voldemort, creating fire, water and electricity.

"I'm not sure," Albus admitted.

"Look at Potter!" Severus yelled, and the three of them immediately saw the Boy-Who-Lived start to glow gently.

"He's gathering enormous amounts of magic, to be able to call up an aura," Albus observed. "But what spell requires that much?"

Suddenly the image recovered to perfect clarity, and the audio aspect reappeared just in time for them to hear… _"ULTIMA!" _

_Terra, Time-Compressed World, Ultimecia's Throne Room_

A moment ago… "ULTIMA!" Harry screamed, both arms shaking from the force of his spell.

The orb of destruction materialized at his hands and rocketed towards the swirling unstable portal that the Sorceress magic was creating. Under Harry's command, the Ultima spell exploded on contact, unleashing all the chaotically devastating magical power within.

A split second later, Harry found himself hurtling backwards, magically super-heated air burning all his exposed skin. He could feel it starting to blister, which almost made him open his reflexively-closed eyes in shock. _It's too strong! My junctioned elemental defense isn't enough!_ At the same time though, he smiled through the pain. _If it's so strong that it's burning even through my defenses, even when I was further away from the source of the explosion, then there's no way Voldemort and Ultimecia survived. _

With that thought, Harry slammed into a wall and crumpled down to the floor. Suddenly the searing heat was gone, and Harry opened his eyes to see Zell in front of everyone, cheering on… a strange green creature with a ruby in its head. The ruby was glowing, and there was a wall of crimson separating a fiery inferno from Harry's group. "Carbuncle," Harry realized. _Good choice, Zell. Carbuncle's specialty is magical defense._

"Harry!" everyone, save Zell, cried out. Zell twisted his head around and gave him a thumbs up, and Harry smiled weakly as he got to his feet.

"Curaga!" came several voices – Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine and Quistis.

Harry felt refreshed as his burns and blisters healed in seconds, and stood strong. "Much better. Thanks guys."

Next thing he knew, he was back down on the floor, his cheek stinging from the force of a slap. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Daphne roared.

"Daphne, what's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"This fool PURPOSELY cast extremely high level destructive magic into the center of unstable magic!" Daphne accused.

"So what if I did?!" Harry challenged. "You saw how bad I was affected, do you really think Ultimecia and Voldemort survived that when they were closer than I was?!"

"Wait, wait, hold up for a minute. Harry, Daphne, what's the significance of casting magic into the middle of unstable magic?" Hermione asked, confused. Everyone else listened in as well – no one had any idea.

"It's dangerous," Harry began slowly.

Daphne snorted. "Dangerous! That's an understatement if there ever was one! Go on Harry, tell her what you did!"

Harry was feeling quite nervous and got the impression that he was going to be reamed out by everyone, but didn't have much choice in the matter. "Well, er…" He sighed from his sitting up position on the ground. "Unstable magic is just that – unstable. Chaotic, even. When magic is in the process of forming something, creating a purpose, it's extremely… reactive. As in, think oil meets fire reactive. When already-formed magic of one source interacts with unstable magic of another source, the result is unpredictable and often very dangerous."

Harry glanced at Daphne, who merely glared at him. He sighed again and prepared himself. "I cast my most powerful, most destructive piece of magic into an unstable mass of magic that was turning into a portal. It could have done anything from change where the portal was going to, made it jumbo-sized, or even sucked everything within a certain radius inside. However, with the sheer amount of magic and the destructive nature of my spell, an explosion was a better bet."

"So, you were basically standing at almost ground zero for what you knew was going to be something extremely dangerous and potentially lethal?" Hermione summarized.

"Pretty much." And once again, Harry's head whipped to the side from the force of a slap, this time from Hermione's hand.

"How DARE you risk your life like that! You don't get to sacrifice yourself for the sake of everyone!" Ginny raged, and though Harry knew he should have seen it coming, he saw tears threatening to stream from her eyes.

"How do you think we would have felt if you had died saving us?!" Theo demanded.

"You have to understand," Quistis murmured quietly, "Harry is SeeD. Like all SeeD, we have been trained to be loyal to our Garden, and do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of the masses."

"Harry had the opportunity and the means to end this conflict while keeping those he cared about alive," Squall added. "He did what he felt he had to do."

"Hey everyone? If Ultimecia's dead, then why is Time still compressed?" Selphie's voice asked worriedly. The world began to fade, and then everything went dark. "Never mind!"

"Um, not that I'm complaining, but how can I still see all you guys?" Zell inquired.

"To be honest, I have no idea," Harry replied. There's no light source, just everything seems dark. "Wait, what's that?"

There were two figures floating towards them. One was an ashen grey Voldemort, who appeared to be either unconscious or dead. Voldemort's garb was almost completely destroyed, his chest completely bare and the remnants of his sleeves barely clinging to his wrists. His pants had become very ragged-looking shorts, looking as though they could be torn off at any moment. However, what made the non-SeeD members turn away was that Voldemort's skin was in much the same condition as his clothes – slashed, ripped away in places, and badly burned. Blood was still oozing from the numerous wounds, though not strongly – his heart had obviously stopped. _Definitely dead,_ Harry thought to himself smugly.

The other was a barely-alive, badly burned, semi-conscious Ultimecia. Harry flicked his wand and muttered, _"Mobilicorpus,"_ and Ultimecia began floating next to him. Hermione was about to the same for Voldemort, but Blaise and Daphne both grasped her hand, stopping her.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused.

"There's no point in bringing Voldemort with us, especially since he's dead," Daphne told her bluntly.

"Think, Hermione," coaxed Blaise. "Voldemort has been dead for twelve long years. If we bring his body back, then we will be implicated to the disappearance of the body from when he killed Harry's parents, possibly for resurrecting him."

"But we would have only been a year old at the time, if that!" Hermione protested. "With Harry's status as the Boy-Who-Lived, why would anyone believe that?"

"Hermione." Theo's voice was solemn. "You're living in a world of magic now. With magic at our beck and call, it's not hard to make things appear logical. My father used to tell me that Minister Fudge makes decisions based on who lines his pockets with gold, and what will help keep him in power. He'll use the panic at seeing Voldemort's dead body, one that hasn't decomposed after twelve years of being gone. He'll jump to conclusions, and take advantage of the public fear to smear our names into the ground with the Ministry-owned Daily Prophet."

"B-b-but…!" Hermione stuttered in outrage. "How can anyone be so corrupt?!"

"He's a politician," Harry said simply, as if that explained everything. "Power corrupts, and …"

"… absolute power corrupts absolutely," Hermione finished with a sigh, lowering her wand. "Yes, of course, you're right."

"Besides," Ginny piped up with a particularly vengeful look on her face. "He deserves a very ignoble end. His body left lying in a timeless void forever, sounds fitting doesn't it?"

Harry smirked at her. "I like the way you think. Only problem is, what about his remaining Horcruxes back on our world? And what happened to his soul fragments here? I doubt he simply ceased to exist," he said worriedly.

"It's impossible to say at this point," Hermione replied, running a hand through her hair. "None of us know any magic that deals with the soul. For all we know, because Voldemort's Horcrux here was probably destroyed in the explosion, and Voldemort's body is now incapable of supporting life, his soul fragments here did cease to exist. Or they could still be here in this void looking for a way out. Or maybe they merged, found a way out and back to our world."

"Best we can do is go destroy his other Horcruxes to ensure that none of them can bring back another version of Voldemort," Theo agreed.

"If this one somehow survives and starts causing trouble, word will reach us and we'll handle things then, right?" Ginny proposed. "In the meantime, let's go home. I'm starving!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Zell exclaimed, making Harry and his wizarding friends jump – they'd completely forgotten about Squall's gang.

"But how do we go home? Click our heels three times and say 'There's no place like home?'" Daphne asked sarcastically.

"That might work," Rinoa responded innocently, "but I think we'd be better off if we just focus on the time and place we want to be in. Now that Ultimecia's magic is dissipating, if we do that, we should end up back where we started."

"I'll take Ultimecia," Squall told Harry, who nodded and released his spell. Everyone closed their eyes, and after several moments, Harry could feel it working. He could feel himself, and all his friends being pulled to their time. With a flash of light, they arrived at Edea's Orphanage, all outside by a large tree.

"Where's Squall?!" Rinoa's voice cried out.

"He must not have made it here!" Quistis replied, almost as panicked as Rinoa.

"I refuse to have gone through this much and not have him back! He promised me that if we were ever separated, we would meet here in the fields! He promised!" Rinoa ranted, tears forming in her eyes. She clutched Griever, the ring that Squall had given her so long ago, and her Sorceress wings emerged. "SQUALL!"

There was another flash of light, and Squall appeared right in front of her, looking slightly confused. "I'm back?"

"You're back!" Rinoa threw her arms around Squall's neck and hugged him, her tears falling freely.

"Um, dude? Where's Ultimecia?" Irvine pointed out.

"She died a long time ago in this very place," Squall told everyone.

"You're not making sense! What happened?!" Selphie demanded.

"Well, remember when we were all kids and I ran out that one day for a while? Not too long after Ellone left? I ended up then, with Ultimecia, and Ultimecia gave Matron her Sorceress powers right before dying at my feet," Squall explained. "But we may have a problem…"

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Ultimecia said something weird as she gave her powers to Matron. 'My power may be mostly taken by that parasite, but what I have left, I bestow upon you.'"

Harry blinked. "Parasite? That must've been the locket Horcrux. But oh well, the locket's gone, either destroyed or somewhere in that timeless void we just left."

Squall relaxed. "Yeah, you're right."

Suddenly, Theo started chuckling, then outright laughing his head off. Although no one knew the reason why, the laughter was infectious, and soon everyone had been overcome by hilarity, lying on the grass.

"We just saved two worlds!" Daphne finally managed to get out.

"I know, hard to believe," Ginny murmured, her laughter dying off. "Was it just three days ago that I was back at Hogwarts, learning Occlumency and figuring out that Dumbledore is not just the kindly old grandfather figure he portrays?"

"A lot happens in a short time, ne?" Harry agreed.

"So many years of fearing that Voldemort would somehow return… and then he does, and we kill him in three days!" Blaise whispered in awe. "What does that say about his first rise?"

"That the people in your world are pansies," Zell told him, somehow managing to keep a solemn voice. Everyone laughed at that, even Squall.

"In their defense, I had to go almost all out to hurt him," Harry admitted. "And I've trained for years simply for the purpose of getting stronger, faster, better. Voldemort would've seemed almost impossible for anyone without an ungodly level of power to match."

"Shouldn't we be getting home?" Hermione queried. "I mean, we have to get home sometime."

"Yeah, we should go sometime, but that time doesn't have to be now," Theo pointed out. "Admit it, it's nice to be able to relax like this, looking up at the warm sky, the sun beating down on your face, and not have to worry about whether our Occlumency shields are fully up, or about classwork, or anything. We deserve a nice, small vacation away from Dumbledore. I mean, we just saved the bloody world!"

"Hmm, you've got a point," Hermione conceded.

"Damn straight."

Several minutes passed in comfortable silence before the SeeD minus Harry got up and dusted themselves off. "We're gonna go see Edea and Cid. See ya later!" Selphie informed them as they left. Feeling lazy, the wizards and witches smiled and waved from their positions on the ground. They lay there for a long while, watching clouds go by.

"Harry?"

"Yes, Blaise?"

"When we leave for our world, will you be returning with us?"

There was silence as everyone awaited an answer. When the silence stretched out to a minute, Harry's friends sat up and looked at him. "Harry?"

"… I don't know…"

--

Damn, there must have been at least three different occasions I could left this chapter, all of them being cliffhangers. Anyway, the chapter's a bit shorter than most by a few pages, but I don't think anyone minds. I'll be making shorter chapters now - 20 pages per chapter is rather difficult to maintain. Hope I kept the interactions honest - it's hard to keep track of so many main characters at once in one place. I mean, let's count. Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, Hermione, Ginny, Blaise, Daphne, Theo, Harry, Voldemort, Ultimecia...

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the reactions of Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore - I like to think it gives added insight into their personalities, and it's amusing to cross reference the canon Snape with mine. "Potter! 20 points from Gryffindor!" "That... is a truly terrifying spell."

Anyway, read and review!


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